Non-ferrous metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose in the last trading session on 14 March, 2023.
Three-month contract prices of aluminum futures inched up by 0.8%, zinc prices were down by 1.3%, lead inched up by 0.1% and nickel decreased by 0.4%. Copper futures inched down by 1.1%.
MCX futures prices opened on a positive note today. Nickel opened 0.20% down at INR 1,800/kg, lead rose by 0.52% to INR 183/kg and copper increased by 0.16% to INR 759/kg. Aluminium inched down by 0.25% to INR 207/kg, while zinc was up 0.15% to INR 260/kg.
US CPI inflation rises 6% in Feb
Recently, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) had increased by 0.4% in February on a seasonally adjusted basis. This follows a 0.5% increase in January. Over the past 12 months, the all items index saw a 6% increase before seasonal adjustment.
India
India’s imported aluminium scrap market saw slightly weak sentiments prevailing despite inventory at one-month low levels at the registered warehouses of the (LME). During the past couple of weeks, LME aluminium 3-month futures prices have dropped by over $50/t and stock levels shrank by around 11,400 t. Market participants stated that price variations among buyers are as much as $50-70/t, whereas sellers’ offers are fluctuating in the range of $30-35/t, particularly offers from the Middle East.
Indian domestic copper prices decreased d-o-d today amid the fall in LME futures. Futures dropped to $8,830/t. Domestic aluminium scrap prices continued to remain stable following the impact of the Silicon Valley bank crisis which has injected uncertainty in the market.
Oil prices inch down
Brent oil futures inched down by 2.30% to $78.5 per barrel. Crude oil WTI futures inched down by 1.6% to $72.41 per barrel.
Prices of natural gas were recorded at $2.58/MMBtu at the time of publishing this insight, down by 5.4% as against the last closing.
Dollar index
The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar in a basket of six different currencies, hovered at 103.63 at the time of publishing this insight. The index inched up by 0.03% against the last session.
The rupee was recorded at 82.48 against the US dollar, depreciating 0.21 paise as against the previous closing.
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