- Copper in contrarian trend, up w-o-w
- Adani inks copper cable production JV
At close of trading on 21 Friday, 2025, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) showed declining trends, with nickel witnessing the highest drop of 2.51% w-o-w. Meanwhile, LME warehouse stocks exhibited a mixed trends, with lead gaining by 13.42% w-o-w.
On LME, three-month aluminium stood at $2,623/tonne (t), down by 2.18%, while nickel prices decreased by 2.51% w-o-w to $16,057/t. Copper prices were at $9,856/t, up by 0.77% w-o-w, while zinc decreased by 1.48% w-o-w to $2,928/t. Lead fell by 2.49% w-o-w to $2,017/t.
Aluminium
India’s imported aluminium scrap prices showed declining trends which fluctuated by up to $5-20/t w-o-w amid raw material shortages.
BigMint’s benchmark assessment for Tense scrap originating from the US was at $1,955/tonne (t), increasing by $5/t w-o-w, while Wheels from the UK stood at $2,500/t, dropping by $30/t w-o-w, both CFR west coast, India.
BigMint’s monthly assessment for the non-OEM grade of ADC12 stood at INR 210,000/tonne (t) in Delhi, rising by INR 1,000/t m-o-m, and INR 211,000/t in Chennai.
Copper
Copper scrap prices in India headed north this week. Copper armature scrap was assessed at INR 824,000/tonne (t) ex-Delhi, up 2.23% w-o-w, while motors mix tags moved down w-o-w to $1,160/t, after touching over $1,200/t levels in the middle of the week.
Secondary continuously cast rods (CCRs) (99.90%) were assessed at INR 888,000/t ex-Delhi, reflecting a 2.5% w-o-w increase. Meanwhile, primary CCR prices rose by 2.1% to INR 922,000/t.
Zinc
Zinc prices remained largely stable w-o-w. Imported zinc diecast from the Middle East was assessed at $2,150/t CFR Mundra, stable w-o-w, while domestic zinc ingots decreased by INR 1,000/t w-o-w to INR 284,000/t.
Hindustan Zinc Limited’s (HZL’s) zinc ingots, however, inched up by INR 1,800/t w-o-w to INR 301,700/t ex-Jodhpur.
Lead
In this segment, domestic primary ingots remained steady at INR 205,000/t, while re-melted ingots stood at INR 185,000/t. Meanwhile, HZL lead ingots increased by INR 1,900/t w-o-w to INR 214,100/t ex-Jodhpur.
Chinese base metals market overview
In the week ending 21 March, deliverable base metals inventories at warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) displayed a positive picture, with copper showing a decline of 6.9% w-o-w to settle at 73,528 t, according to the exchange’s weekly stock report.
Other updates
Hindalco plans INR 45,000-cr investment in copper, aluminium: Hindalco has announced an INR 45,000-crore investment plan for its copper and aluminium segments. The investment will enable the company to expand upstream and develop next-gen high-precision engineered products. Notably, the company’s primary aluminium production has expanded from 20,000 t in Renukoot to 1.3 mnt, making it India’s largest fully integrated producer. Hindalco is also on track to surpass 1 mnt of refined copper production.
Adani inks copper cable production JV: Adani Enterprises, via Kutch Copper Ltd. (KCL), has partnered with Praneetha Ventures Pvt. Ltd. to form Praneetha Ecocables Ltd. (PEL). This 50:50 joint venture will manufacture copper cables and wires for industrial and infrastructure needs. With a focus on innovation, cost optimisation, and market growth, PEL aims to strengthen Adani’s position in the growing copper wire market.
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