Copper
Domestic copper armature scrap and copper wire rod (primary and secondary) prices witnessed a downward trend. Prices of copper armature scrap fell by INR 12,000/t ($153/t) d-o-d to INR 665,000/t ($8,493/t) exy-Delhi.
Prices of copper secondary wire rod fell by INR 12,000/t ($153/t) d-o-d to INR 715,000/t ($9,131/t), and the prices of primary copper wire rod edged lower by INR 18,000/t ($230/t) d-o-d to INR 732,000/t exw-Delhi.
The monthly spread between copper armature and copper secondary wire rod prices increased by INR 10,000/t ($128/t) to INR 50,000/t ($639/t) and decreased by INR 2,000/t ($26/t) on a weekly basis on 23 June.
Prices are declining owing to the following reasons:
- Lower capacity utilisation: Manufacturing units are operating at a lower capacity as demand is low from end-users in the domestic market owing to which prices are declining, sources informed SteelMint.
- Limited future bookings: Sellers have very limited future bookings; thus, they have very high pressure of selling their material ahead of the approaching monsoon season, which is pushing them to lower prices of their products.
- Tight Liquidity: There is shortage of liquidity and thus buyers are booking material in limited quantities – lower than their actual needs. This is also pulling commodity prices lower.
- LME: LME three-month copper contract prices edged down 2.46% to $8,773/t on 22 June. Exchange prices influence the movement of domestic market prices, SteelMint notes.
Zinc
SteelMint’s assessed special high-grade (SHG) zinc ingot prices edging higher today by INR 1,000/t ($13/t) to INR 321,000/t ($4,099/t), Moreover, Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (HZL) has increased special high-grade (SHG) zinc ingot prices by INR 4,400/t ($56/t) to INR 335,100/t ($4,282/t) exw-Jodhpur today.
Seasonal labour shortage is impacting supply in the market, which is also driving prices higher, sources informed SteelMint.
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