Weekly round-up: Non-ferrous metals prices in negative territory

Non-ferrous metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) remained in negtaive territory this week. The market edged down amid moderate transactions.

Stocks of all key non-ferrous metals at LME-registered warehouses fell by up to 2.9% w-o-w. However, nickel copper was up by 24.4% to 64,550 t.

The dollar index, which measures its value against a basket of six different currencies, was at 101.67, stable compared to last week.

US market

In March, people's personal income increased by 0.3% or $67.9 billion, and their disposable income increased by 0.4% or $71.7 billion. People spent slightly more money, with personal consumption increasing by less than 0.1% or $8.2 billion. The price of goods and services increased slightly by 0.1%, while the price of goods and services excluding food and energy increased by 0.3%. Real disposable income increased by 0.3%, while real personal consumption decreased slightly. The price of goods decreased by 0.4% and the price of services increased by 0.1%.

Domestic market overview

The domestic non-ferrous scrap market showed negative trends this week due to volatile future exchange markets and uncertainty caused by various factors.

As a consequence of the ongoing heatwave, the market is currently witnessing a dearth of labour, resulting in a state of unpredictability and impeding operational efficacy. This shortage of workforce has given rise to a situation of flux, marked by an absence of predictability.

Aluminium scrap prices rangebound

Aluminium scrap prices in the domestic market remained rangebound w-o-w. Sources informed that moderate transactions took place this week. However, price revisions by the primary players had no effect on local scrap prices.

Tense prices stood at INR 163,000/t ($1,994/t) while utensil prices were at INR 173,500/t ($2,122/t).

Domestic prices of aluminium alloy ingot ADC12 moved up by INR 2,000/t to INR 201,000/t w-o-w. The recent rise in prices has mainly been due to two factors: limited imports of raw materials and relatively low sales transactions among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Global aluminium market

Prices of imported aluminum scrap in India witnessed a downtrend this week in comparison with the preceding week as a result of a significant decrease in prices on major commodity exchanges. However, the current state of the market is characterised by lack of clarity, with some sellers offering their products at inflated prices. Meanwhile, buyers have displayed limited interest in purchasing due to notable discrepancies between offers and bids.

Copper prices down

Domestic copper armature scrap prices fell w-o-w to INR 704,000/t ($8,612/t) ex-Delhi, while secondary wire rod prices stood at INR 742,000/t ex-Delhi.

Despite stable buying enquiries for raw material, the demand for finished products has been low. This prompted many sellers to withhold their offers due to the prevailing uncertainty in global market sentiments. LME futures have touched around $8,500/t levels, whereas MCX futures have struggled to lift the market sentiment.

Zinc prices fall, lead rangebound

Prices of domestic special high-grade (SHG) zinc ingots fell by 7.3% w-o-w to close at INR 238,000/t ($2,911/t) exw-Delhi amid falling futures. Prices of domestic remelted lead ingots remained firm while refined lead ingots rose marginallly up to INR 202,000/t.