Non-ferrous metals prices show uptrends

Non-ferrous metals prices on all major exchanges remained positive in the last trading session on 20 February, 2023. The US dollar, on the other hand, continued to remain high.

Three-month contract prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) moved up in the last session. Aluminum prices inched up 2.9%, zinc was up 2.2%, lead increased by 4.3%, copper up 1.7%, while nickel inched up 4.4%.

MCX futures prices mostly opened at lower levels today. Nickel opened 7% higher at INR 2,450/kg, lead up by 0.16% to INR 184/kg and copper decreased by 0.10% to INR 778/kg. Aluminum inched down 0.55% to INR 212/kg, while zinc was down 0.36% to INR 274/kg.

South Korea's household credit falls

South Korea's household credit shrank in the fourth quarter of 2022, data showed recently. The country's total household credit fell by 0.2%, or 4.1 trillion won ($3.16 billion), in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, to 1,867.0 trillion won by the end of December, according to the Bank of Korea. Similarly, South Korea's household loan fell by 0.4% to 1,749 trillion in the quarter ending December, 2022.

India

India's domestic aluminium scrap prices remained firm d-o-d yesterday. Buyers expect that prices may remain range-bound in the near-term.

Copper armature scrap and rods prices in Delhi were positive on the last trading day. Buyers have been actively booking finished copper products in expectation of further price hike, while sellers are trying to hold back offers.

Oil prices inch down

Brent oil futures remained almost firm at $83.17 per barrel. However, crude oil WTI futures fell by 2% to $76.42 per barrel.

Prices of natural gas were recorded at $2.216/MMBtu at the time of publishing this article. Prices of natural gas fell by 10.8% 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 around 104.02 at the time of publishing this insight. The index was up 0.15% against the last session.

The rupee was recorded at 82.77 against the US dollar, almost stable against the previous closing.