Weekly round-up: India's base metals prices reflect varied trends

• Domestic aluminum scrap prices steady, copper dips 1%
  
  
• China's refined copper output falls in Oct'24, but up 4.5% y-o-y
  
  

At close of trading on Friday, 29 November 2024, base metals prices on London Metal Exchange (LME) showed mixed trends with zinc increasing by 4.62%. Meanwhile, LME warehouse stocks also exhibited mixed trends, with zinc increasing by 5.94%.

On the LME, three-month aluminium futures decreased by 1.14% to $2,594/tonne (t), while nickel prices declining by 0.42% to $15,903/t. Copper prices were at $9,010/t, up by 0.47, while zinc increased by 4.62% to $3,103/t. Lead rose by 2.47% to $2,072/t.

India's domestic base metals market remained largely stable.

Imported aluminium prices steady

Imported aluminium scrap prices in India remained firm, with a few grades edging lower by up to 1.5% w-o-w. BigMint's benchmark assessment for tense scrap originating from the UAE stood at $1,800/tonne (t), firm w-o-w, while zorba 95/5 from the UK stood at $2,110/t, stable w-o-w, both prices CFR west coast, India.

In the domestic market, tense scrap prices remained steady w-o-w in both Delhi and Chennai, while other grades witnessing a downtrend. According to BigMint's assessment, domestic tense scrap stood at INR 173,000/t ex-Delhi NCR and INR 174,000/t ex-Chennai.

Prices of aluminium ADC12 alloyed ingots remained stable w-o-w across both northern and southern regions in India, largely due to ongoing sluggish demand in the automotive sector and a weakened export market.

BigMint's weekly assessments for ADC12 (non-OEM) grade stood at INR 201,000/tonne (t) in Delhi and INR 203,000/t in Chennai, stable w-o-w.

Copper prices edge down

Domestic copper armature prices were assessed at INR 742,000/tonne ex-Delhi, down 1% w-o-w, while copper motors mix scrap prices remained firm w-o-w.

Secondary continuously cast rods (CCR) (99.90%) were assessed at INR 790,000 per tonne (ex-Delhi), reflecting a 1% weekly decline. Meanwhile, primary CCR prices fell 0.6% to INR 805,000/t.

Zinc edges up slightly

Domestic zinc ingot prices stood at INR 290,000/t, up 0.9% w-o-w as compared to last week's INR 287,500/t. Hindustan Zinc (HZL) raised zinc ingot prices by INR 7,700/t stood at INR 306,900/t ex- Jodhpur.

Lead remains stable

Domestic lead primary ingots stood at at INR 194,000/t and remelted ingots at INR 177,000/t, remained stable compared to last week. Additionally, HZL's lead prices raised by INR 2,000/t stood at INR 202,200/t ex- Jodhpur.

China base metals market overview

In the week ending 29 November, deliverable base metals stocks in the warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchanges (SHFE) displayed a downtrend, except nickel which showed an inflow of 5.8% w-o-w to 33,014/t, according to the exchange's weekly stocks report.

China's refined copper output in October fell 2% m-o-m and 1.3% y-o-y to 1.116 mnt, driven by production suspensions and maintenance at key smelters, including Daye's Yangxin Hongsheng facility. Despite this decline, cumulative output for January-October 2024 rose by 4.5% y-o-y to 11.2 mnt.

Global Updates

• Vedanta mulls Saudi investment: Vedanta is planning a $2 billion investment to establish copper processing facilities in Saudi Arabia, supporting the kingdom's vision of becoming a global hub for metals and mining. The company, announced plans to construct a state-of-the-art smelter and refinery with an annual capacity of 400,000 metric tons. Additionally, Vedanta aims to set up a facility capable of producing up to 300,000 tons of copper rods per year, a critical component in electric cable manufacturing.