Domestic base metals prices saw positive trends this week, rising by up to 7.5% w-o-w. All non-ferrous metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) were on the uptrend, rising by up to 7.4% except lead which fell by 7.2%.
The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar in a basket of six different currencies, hovered around 101.99, down slightly by 0.27 against last week.
Price picture
- Aluminium prices up w-o-w
Domestic aluminium tense scrap prices rose by 4.3% w-o-w to INR 168,000/t exy-Delhi. Notably, aluminium stocks in LME warehouses witnessed a sharp fall of 22,075 t w-o-w.
India’s aluminium scrap market saw supply shortage in the week which led to the rise in prices after these had remained firm for a few weeks.
Also, the price hike by primary players and higher imported scrap prices by up to 6.3% w-o-w lent support to aluminium scrap prices. Buyers were ready to quote higher bids to secure raw materials as some prominent exporters expected a further rise in prices of non-ferrous metals particularly aluminium.
- Copper prices trend higher
Domestic copper armature scrap prices rose by 4.9% w-o-w to INR 693,000/t ($8,558/t) exy-Delhi.
Prices of secondary wires rose by 4.8% w-o-w to INR 745,000/t ($9,200/t), while primary wire rod prices edged up by 4.9% to INR 805,000/t ($9,941/t) exw-Delhi yesterday.
Copper prices saw an upward trend on healthy trading since the start of the month amid declining stocks. Meanwhile, there were few sellers who held back offers on expectations of more price hikes. However, at the end of the week, transaction volumes dropped compared to the start of the week as buyers were procuring in small quantities and had adopted a wait-and-watch mode amid the volatile trends.
- Zinc prices up, lead almost firm
Domestic special high-grade (SHG) zinc ingots prices went up by 7.5% to INR 307,000/t ($3,791/t) exw-Delhi on active demand in the domestic market. In addition, domestic re-melted lead ingots and refined lead ingots prices remained largely stable.
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