Base metals prices show mixed trends

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) showed volatile trends yesterday. Aluminium, zinc and nickel fell by up to 1.5% on the last trading day even as copper and lead inched up by 1.31%.

Base metals exhibited mixed sentiments as market participants await the release of US inflation data due soon.

The Federal Reserve has raised rates by 300 basis points this year, with another 75-bps effectively priced for the November FOMC meeting.

On the other hand, global economic activity is experiencing a broad-based and sharper-than-expected slowdown, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast that GDP growth in india will slow down in FY’23.

The growth downgrade reflects a “weaker-than-expected outturn in the second quarter and more subdued external demand”, IMF said in its latest update

Base metals market performance – 11 October

• SHFE copper rose 0.42%, lead advanced 0.1%, and zinc lost 0.24%.
• LME’s three-month copper futures rose 0.24%, nickel was down 1.49%, aluminium decreased by 0.67%, zinc fell by 1.21% and lead was up 1.31%.
• On MCX, aluminium was down slightly by 0.8%, nickel decreased slightly by 0.3%, lead edged down by 0.3%, copper fell 0.1%, and zinc decreased by 1.4%. 

  Stock levels fluctuate

Aluminium and zinc metals stocks at LME-registered warehouses decreased by up to 0.57% d-o-d in the last session. However, copper increased 1.37% and nickel and lead stocks remained almost stable.

Oil prices down

Meanwhile, brent oil futures fell 3% and were at $93.74 per barrel, while crude oil WTI futures were down 3.29% at $88 per barrel at the time of reporting.

Oil prices have been moving up owing to OPEC’s production cut planning. Although the US has been continuously pitching to increase production, there are no signs of a pickup in production by OPEC.

Currency exchange

The Indian rupee was trading at 82.21, appreciating slightly by 0.10 paisee against the greenback at the time of reporting.

The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar in a basket of six different currencies, hovered around 113.13, up marginally by 0.09% against the last session.