Non-ferrous metals prices show downtrend

Non-ferrous metals prices on all major exchanges were volatile in the last trading session on 1 February, 2023.

Three-month contract prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) were mostly negative. Aluminum prices fell by 0.5%, zinc was down 1.2%, lead increased by 0.1%, copper edged down by 1.5%, and nickel fell by 3.5%.

MCX futures prices remained mostly in a negative territory. Nickel was up 2.7% at INR 2,515/kg, lead decreased by 0.4% to INR 186.10/kg, copper fell by 0.9% to INR 780.6/kg, aluminum was down 0.4% to INR 224.9/kg, while zinc was down by 2% to INR 289.9/kg.

Prices slipped ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, which is expected to mark the eighth consecutive increase since March 2022. Markets are broadly anticipating policymakers to announce a 25 basis point hike ahead, as per latest reports.

India

Indian domestic copper prices remained almost firm d-o-d amid a 0.57% dip in LME futures in yesterday's session to touch $9,170/t.

India's domestic aluminium scrap prices remained range-bound d-o-d yesterday. Furthermore, aluminium ingots ADC12 were recorded at INR 202,000/t, exw-Faridabad yesterday, a rise by INR 4,000/t w-o-w, SteelMint recorded.

Oil prices fall

Brent oil futures were down by 2% at $83.48 per barrel, while crude oil WTI futures decreased by 1.80% to $77.08 per barrel, as per latest updates.

Prices of natural gas were recorded at $2.461 at the time of publishing this article, a fall of 8% as against the last closing price.

Dollar index

The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar in a basket of six different currencies, hovered at around 100.89 at the time of publishing this report, down 0.32% as against the last session.

The rupee was recorded at 81.85 against the US dollar, almost stable against the previous closing.