Weekly round-up: Base metals prices show mixed trends

Domestic aluminium scrap range-bound, import prices up

SteelMint's assessment for domestic aluminium tense scrap stood at INR 164,000/t ($2,111/t), up by INR 1,000/t ($13/t), exy-Delhi. LME aluminium cash prices were down by 3.7% to $2,823/t, w-o-w.

Meanwhile, ADC12 prices stood at INR 209,000/t ($2,690/t), exw-Faridabad, up by INR 2,000/t ($26/t) on a w-o-w basis.

Further, Middle-East and UK aluminium scrap import prices increased in the range of $30-80/t CIF Nhava Sheva on 24 May w-o-w, last updated by SteelMint.

Notably, aluminium stocks fell by around 33,200 t to 471,075 t w-o-w at LME-registered warehouses.

LME nickel cash prices dip

The LME nickel cash prices dipped slightly by 0.34% to $27,850 w-o-w whereas stocks fluctuated throughout the week, rising by 342 t, w-o-w, to 72,240 t yesterday.

SteelMint's assessment of stainless-steel grade 304 scrap was recorded at INR 155,000/t ($1,995/t), down INR 10,000/t ($129/t), and grade 316 scrap at INR 255,000/t ($3,282/t), down by INR 5,000/t ($64/t) w-o-w, exy-Delhi.

The government's imposition of the export duty on stainless steel finished products had a negative effect on the scrap market. Buyers of top mills adopted a wait-and-watch mode for further price corrections, SteelMint learnt.

LME copper cash prices down

Copper cash prices showed a downward trend by 1% to $9,383/t towards the end of this week. On the other hand, three-months contracts showed an uptrend by 0.6% to $9,459/t on 27 May 2022.

SteelMint's assessment for copper armature scrap stood at INR 715,000/t ($9,203/t), exy-Delhi, up INR 600/t ($8/t) w-o-w.

LME and domestic zinc on uptrend

LME zinc prices, both cash and three-month contract, showed a positive trend this week of around 2% to $3,815/t and 4% to $3,844/t, respectively. SteelMint's assessment for special high grade (SHG) zinc ingots witnessed an upward trend by around 3.2% to INR 329,000/t ($4,235/t), exw-Delhi on 27 May 2022, w-o-w. The market witnessed a good number of buying inquiries which resulted in the increase in prices.

Global market overview

Australia's aluminium council to resume negotiation on FTA: The Australian Aluminium Council, which represents Australia's bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium smelting and downstream processing industries, seeks to resume negotiations on potential free trade agreements (FTAs) with both the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE). as per latest reports.

Such negotiations will benefit Australian exporters, importers, producers and investors by reducing and eliminating certain barriers to international trade and investment.

The Council said it would support the continued engagement of Australia's aluminium industry in the development of these FTAs. The Council will provide further information on any of the issues raised in this submission, SteelMint understands.

Source: Australian Aluminium Council

Zinc supply-demand to boost by 2050: As per an International Zinc Association (IZA) study, the total amount of zinc used to produce first use goods is expected to increase from 17.5 mnt in 2019 to 28 mnt in 2050. In addition, the energy storage market is forecast to consume an additional 2.8 mnt of zinc by 2050.

The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) has released preliminary data on the world copper supply and demand scenario for Q1 2022. The world's copper mines' production increased by about 2.6% in Q1 2022 to 5.2 mnt as against 5.1 mnt in Q1 2021.

The world's refined copper production increased by about 2.9% to 6.2 mnt in Q1 2022 as against 6.1 mnt in Q1 2021.