- The US denies tariffs are safeguard measures
- India urgently needs copper smelting capacity
At close of trading on 11 April, 2025, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) showed slight uptrends, with copper witnessing the highest gain of 2.37% w-o-w. Meanwhile, LME warehouse stocks exhibited mixed trends, with copper falling by 8.39% w-o-w.
On LME, three-month aluminium stood at $2,396/tonne (t), up by 0.76%, while nickel prices increased by 2.11% w-o-w to $15,069/t. Copper prices were at $8,988/t, up by 2.37% w-o-w, while zinc decreased by 0.23% w-o-w to $2,651/t. Lead was up by 0.42% w-o-w to $1,914/t.
Aluminium
India’s imported aluminium scrap prices showed an uptrend by up to $30-40/t w-o-w.
BigMint’s benchmark assessment for Tense scrap originating from the US was at $1,920/t, increasing by $40/t w-o-w, while Wheels from the UK stood at $2,410/t, up by $10/t w-o-w, both CFR west coast, India.
BigMint’s weekly assessment for non-OEM grade of ADC12 stood at INR 217,000/t in Delhi, and INR 218,000/t in Chennai, up by INR 1,000/t w-o-w.
Additionally, a leading Indian automaker set its May 2025 ADC12 settlement prices at INR 220,900/t, up INR 2,600/t m-o-m – the highest hike in CY’25 – driven by firm imported aluminium scrap prices and persistent raw material shortages. Consequently, the scrap-to-semi-finished spread widened by INR 3,000/t m-o-m to INR 35,000-36,000/t. However, sellers expected stronger price revisions, citing spot trades within INR 225,000-230,000/t in Delhi NCR and Chennai.
Copper
Copper scrap prices in India remained range-bound w-o-w. Copper armature scrap was assessed at INR 785,000/t ex-Delhi, steady w-o-w, while motors mix tags moved up w-o-w by $10/t to $1,150/t.
Secondary continuously cast rods (CCRs) (99.9%) were assessed at INR 837,000/t ex-Delhi, down by INR 3,000/t w-o-w. Meanwhile, primary CCR prices stood at INR 855,000/t, down by INR 5,000/t w-o-w.
Zinc
Imported zinc diecast from the Middle East was assessed at $2,140/t CFR Mundra, down by $10/t w-o-w, while domestic zinc ingots dropped by INR 2,000/t w-o-w to INR 258,000/t.
Hindustan Zinc Limited’s (HZL’s) zinc ingot prices remained range-bound w-o-w at INR 268,500/t ex-Jodhpur.
Lead
Domestic primary lead ingot prices remained range-bound at INR 202,000/t, while re-melted ingots stood at INR 181,000/t. Meanwhile, HZL lead ingots increased by INR 3,800/t w-o-w to INR 195,500/t ex-Jodhpur.
Chinese base metals market overview
In the week ending 18 April, deliverable base metals inventories at warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) displayed a negative picture, with lead showing the highest drop of 8..9% w-o-w to settle at 59,060 t, according to the exchange’s weekly stock report.
Other updates
US denies steel, aluminium tariffs are safeguards: The US informed the WTO that its tariffs on steel and aluminium, imposed under Section 232, are national security measures, not safeguards, and thus are exempt from WTO Safeguards Agreement rules. India contends these are de facto safeguard measures and that the US failed to notify the WTO properly. The US maintains the tariffs fall under GATT’s security exception but remains open to talks.
India’s copper crunch: smelting capacity urgently needed: With rising demand from green technologies, India faces a growing copper gap. The 2018 closure of Sterlite Copper has made the country a net importer. Despite increasing global copper needs, India has limited reserves and smelting capacity. Without urgent investment in refining infrastructure, dependence on imports may hinder economic growth and energy transition goals.
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