Non-ferrous metals prices on LME witness downtrend d-o-d

Non-ferrous metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) witnessed a downtrend. Three-month aluminium futures declined 0.6% to reach $2,190/t, while nickel dropped 0.8% to $20,907/t, copper fell 0.5% to $8,429/t, zinc prices inched down by 1.5% to $2,359/t and lead prices dipped by 0.5% to $2,085/t.

The stocks at LME warehouses gained except aluminium. Notably, zinc stocks grew significantly by 13% to 90,825t from 80,375t.

COMEX market

Copper prices on the Commodity Exchange (COMEX) witnessed a marginal decrease of 0.2% to reach $8,381/t from $8,403/t in the last trading day.

India: Non-ferrous scrap markets

Aluminium market

Indian domestic aluminium alloy ingot market experienced a decline in prices following the announcement by Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the largest automobile manufacturer and a significant consumer of aluminium. SteelMint's assessment revealed, a w-o-w drop of INR 2,500/t in ADC12 aluminium alloy ingot prices.

Similarly, prices in the local aluminium scrap market mirrored the trend set by primary producers, experiencing a decline during the stated period.

Copper market

India's copper market has been range-bound, with prices showing a slight w-o-w decrease but remaining relatively high due to robust domestic demand, as India is a major buyer of copper. Meanwhile, South Korea and China seem less active in the market presently. Domestic copper prices saw a minor drop yesterday d-o-d.

Global updates

Japan's exports below expectations in Jun'23

Japan's annual exports in June grew below expectations, signalling weak demand from China and the West, impacting the post-Covid recovery in the third-largest global economy. With concerns of a world recession amid tightening monetary policies, Japan's trade data showed a 1.5% y-o-y rise in exports, led by US-bound shipments of cars and mining machinery, while exports to China declined due to steel, chips, and non-ferrous metal shipments. Imports fell by 12.9%.

Anglo American's copper production soars in Q2 2023

Global miner Anglo American (AAL.L) reported a significant increase in copper production in the first-half, rising by 56%. This surge was primarily due to the ramp-up of commercial production at the new Quellaveco mine in Peru. However, production from their operations in Chile saw a slight decrease of 2% during the same period.

Oil prices largely stable

Oil prices remained stable with minimal changes today. This was due to a lower-than-anticipated decrease in US crude inventories and concerns over a potential weakening in demand, leading investors to exercise caution.

Brent oil futures inched up 0.03% to $79.48 per barrel. Crude oil WTI futures fell marginally by 0.01% to $75.34 per barrel.

Natural gas prices inch up

Prices of natural gas were recorded at $2.631/MMBtu, gaining 1.08% at the time of publishing this insight.

Dollar index

The dollar index, which gauges the value of the greenback in a basket of six different currencies, hovered at 100.14, witnessing a slight drop of 0.14%.

The rupee was recorded at 82.04 against the dollar, appreciating by 0.09% against the last closing.