- US imposes duties on South Korean aluminium
- Mexico’s Ministry of Economy starts AD investigation
At close of trading on 7 Friday, 2025, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) showed positive trends, with nickel witnessing the highest gain of 6.94% w-o-w. Meanwhile, LME warehouse stocks exhibited marginal declining trends, except nickel showing a gain of 1.82% w-o-w.
On the LME, three-month aluminium stood at $2,708/tonne (t), up by 3.84%, while nickel prices increased by 6.94% w-o-w to $16,504/t. Copper prices were at $9,613/t, up by 2.72% w-o-w, while zinc increased by 3.33% w-o-w to $2,866/t. Lead inched down by 1.36% w-o-w to $2,019/t.
Aluminium
Imported aluminium scrap prices in India went up marginally w-o-w, with an increase in London Metal Exchange (LME) future prices.
BigMint’s benchmark assessment for Tense scrap originating in the US was at $1,910/tonne (t), increasing by $10/t w-o-w, while Wheels from the UK stood at $2,500/t, up by $30/t w-o-w, both CFR west coast, India.
Domestic aluminium Tense scrap prices inched up by INR 2,000/t w-o-w, with ex-Delhi at INR 182,000/t and ex-Chennai at INR 183,000/t.
Copper
Domestic copper armature prices were assessed at INR 795,000/t ex-Delhi, up by INR 11,000/t w-o-w, while copper motors mix scrap prices moved up by $20/t w-o-w to $1,200/t.
Secondary continuously cast rods (CCR) (99.90%) were assessed at INR 857,000/t (ex-Delhi), reflecting an increase of INR 15,000/t w-o-w. Meanwhile, primary CCR prices rose by INR 20,000/t to INR 890,000/t.
Zinc
Zinc prices slightly increased w-o-w. Imported zinc diecast from the Middle East was assessed at $2,120/t CFR Mundra, up by $10/t w-o-w, while domestic zinc ingots increased by INR 5,000/t w-o-w to INR 283,000/t. Hindustan Zinc Limited’s (HZL) zinc ingots, however, inched up by INR 2,500/t w-o-w to INR 293,500/t ex-Jodhpur.
Lead
In this segment, domestic primary ingots remained steady at INR 203,000/t, while re-melted ingots remained largely stable w-o-w at INR 183,000/t. Meanwhile HZL lead ingots increased by INR 2,800/t w-o-w to INR 207,100/t ex-Jodhpur.
Chinese base metals market overview
In the week ending 7 March, deliverable base metals inventories at warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) displayed a negative picture, with nickel showing an outflow of 2.5% w-o-w at 30,152 t, according to the exchange’s weekly stock report.
Other updates
US imposes AD, CVD on aluminium imports from South Korean company: The US government has imposed anti-dumping (52.79%) and countervailing (33.44%) duties on aluminium wire and cable imports from Pusan Cables and Engineering, a South Korean subsidiary of a Chinese company. The firm used Chinese materials for partial processing in South Korea. Other South Korean companies can avoid tariffs by proving their raw materials are not sourced from China.
Mexico launches AD investigation into Chinese aluminum: Mexico’s Ministry of Economy initiated an anti-dumping (AD) investigation into imports of aluminum profiles and bars from China. The inquiry follows complaints from Indalum and Cuprum, accusing China of selling these products below fair market value, harming the domestic industry. The investigation will cover imports from 1 July 2023, to 30 June 2024.
Outlook
The FY’26 Union Budget’s removal of copper scrap duties and INR 1,500 crore for recycling will boost domestic scrap inflow, strengthen recyclers, and support strong copper prices driven by local demand.
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