Weekly round-up: Base metals prices on LME rise w-o-w; domestic market sees mixed movements

At close of trading on Friday, 17 January 2025, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) showed positive trends, with nickel increasing by 3.62% w-o-w. Meanwhile, LME warehouse stocks exhibited negative trends, except for nickel, which showed a gain of 1.20% w-o-w.

On the LME, three-month aluminium stood at $2,571/tonne (t), up by 3.13%, while nickel prices decreased by 1.31% w-o-w to $15,111/t. Copper prices were at $9,091/t, up by 2.42% w-o-w, while zinc decreased by 0.69% w-o-w to $2,868/t. Lead inched up by 2.70% w-o-w to $1,975/t.

Aluminium

Aluminium scrap: Imported aluminium scrap prices in India witnessed an uptrend w-o-w, with fluctuations of up to 1.7%, amid demand recovery post new year holidays. Amid rising London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium prices, certain scrap grades were in short supply.

BigMint's benchmark assessment for Tense scrap originating from the US stood at $1,830/tonne (t), rising by $10/t w-o-w, while wheels from the UK was priced at $2,410/t, up $40/t w-o-w, both CFR west coast, India.

Domestic aluminium Tense scrap prices remained stable w-o-w, with ex-Delhi at INR 174,000/t and ex-Chennai at INR 175,000/t.

Non-OEM ADC12 prices edge down: BigMint's weekly assessments for ADC12 (non-OEM) grade stood at INR 202,000/t in Delhi and INR 203,000/t in Chennai, stable w-o-w.

Copper

Imported copper prices stable: Imported copper motors mix scrap originating from the US stood at $1,130/t CFR Mundra, stable w-o-w.

Domestic copper tags rise: Domestic copper armature prices were assessed at INR 750,000/t ex-Delhi, range-bound w-o-w, and secondary continuously cast rods (CCR) (99.90%) were assessed at INR 808,000/t ex-Delhi, up by 2.5%. Meanwhile, primary CCR prices stood at INR 840,000/t, increasing by 3% w-o-w.

Zinc

Domestic zinc ingot prices stood at INR 280,500/t, a drop of 1.9% as compared to last week. Hindustan Zinc (HZL) zinc ingot prices remained stable w-o-w at INR 291,600/t ex-Jodhpur.

Lead

Domestic lead primary ingots stood at INR 190,000/t, stable w-o-w, and re-melted ingots at INR 171,500/t, dropping slightly by 0.9% compared to last week. Additionally, HZL's lead ingot prices increased by 1% w-o-w to INR 198,600 /t ex-Jodhpur.

Chinese base metals market overview

In the week ending 17 January, deliverable base metals inventories at warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchanges (SHFE) displayed a mixed picture, with nickel showing the largest inflow of 5.2% w-o-w to 35,327 t, according to the exchange's weekly stock report.

China's imports of unwrought copper surged by 17.8% y-o-y in December 2024, hitting a 13-month high of 559,000 t. This rise was partly due to sellers meeting annual contract obligations. Total copper imports in 2024 touched 5.68 mnt, up 3.27% from the previous year. Amid copper price declines, imports of copper concentrate increased in December.

Market updates

Rio Tinto's alumina production forecast for CY'25

Rio Tinto's Q4 2024 report revealed steady production growth, with bauxite output up 2% to 15.4 mnt and alumina production rising 3.8% to 1.99 mnt. However, aluminum production fell 1.1%. For 2025, the company projects alumina production between 7.4 and 7.8 mnt, with bauxite and aluminum production also projected to remain strong.

Codelco's copper output soars 17% y-o-y in November

Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, saw its output rise 16.9% y-o-y in November 2024 to 133,600 t, according to Cochilco data. This contributed to a 10% increase in Chile's overall copper production. BHP's Escondida mine also reported a 27.6% production boost, while Collahuasi saw a decline of 23.5%. Codelco's recovery follows a challenging 2023.