Copper armature scrap prices stood at INR 746,000/t ($9,816/t) today, rising INR 2,800/t ($37/t) w-o-w. Primary copper wire rod prices were at INR 845,000/t ($11,118/t), up INR 3,600/t ($47/t) on a weekly basis. Secondary copper wire rod prices were at INR 796,000/t ($10,474/t), up by INR 5,800/t ($76/t), market sources informed SteelMint.
The prices are showing an uptrend owing to fluctuating LME cash prices. The LME cash settlement price was recorded at $10,390/t, a marginal rise of 0.85% w-o-w. However, the copper LME 3-month prices were at $10,323/t today, down 1.4% from last week’s closing level of $10,469/t.
LME-registered warehouse recorded stocks of 88,725 t at the beginning of the calendar year. Significantly, inventory levels fell by around 34% on the year and weekly stocks increased by around 9.5%. The volatility in stocks led to an inventory of 103,775 t towards the end of last week.
India’s leading copper manufacturer, Hindalco’s copper production decreased by 12.12% m-o-m in Feb to 29,000 t from 33,000 t in Jan. On y-o-y basis, Hindalco saw a decline of 5.41% in production, The company has its smelting unit in Dahej, Gujarat, with an installed capacity of 500,000 t, as per SteelMint data.
On the other hand, Vedanta subsidiary Sesa Sterlite Ltd. (SSL) reported production of copper at 11,000 t, stable m-o-m in Feb, as per latest data from the Union Ministry of Mines. SSL has its smelting unit in Tamil Nadu which is closed since 2018.
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