- India’s copper cathode imports fall 34% y-o-y
- HCL plans to triple copper output by FY’31
At the close of trading on 13 June 2025, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) showed divergent trends w-o-w, with aluminium witnessing the highest gain of 2.14%. Meanwhile, LME warehouse stocks exhibited negative trends, with copper declining the steepest, by 13.54%.
On the LME, three-month aluminium stood at $2,503/tonne (t), up by 2.14%, while nickel increased by 2.32% w-o-w to $15,128/t. Copper prices were at $9,645/t, down by 0.50% w-o-w, while zinc decreased by 1.61% w-o-w to $2,623/t. Lead was up by 0.61% w-o-w to $1,991/t.
India’s imported aluminium scrap prices remained largely range-bound w-o-w, influenced by robust global demand, fluctuating LME prices, and ongoing supply constraints. Tight raw material availability in the market and firm price settlements by a major automaker underpinned the slight price uptrend in certain grades.
BigMint assessed Tense scrap from the US at $2,000/t, up by $10/t w-o-w, while Wheels from the UK was up $10/t w-o-w to $2,530/t, both CFR west coast, India. At the time of reporting, London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium prices stood at $2,482/t, largely stable w-o-w.
In the domestic market, Tense scrap prices in both Delhi and Chennai remained steady as compared to last week. According to BigMint’s assessment, domestic Tense scrap stood at INR 196,000/t ex-Delhi-NCR and INR 197,000/t ex-Chennai.
Indian copper scrap prices showed an uptrend this week, despite diverging trends prevailing on the London Metal Exchange (LME) platform. Copper armature scrap was assessed at INR 805,000/t ex-Delhi, up by INR 4,000/t w-o-w, while motors mix was stable at $1,160/t.
Secondary continuously cast rods (CCRs) (99.90%) were assessed at INR 868,000/t ex-Delhi, up marginally w-o-w. Meanwhile, primary CCR prices stood at INR 900,000/t, rising by up to 12,000/t w-o-w.
In FY’25, India imported 239,000 t of copper cathodes, 34% less than 363,000 t in the previous fiscal. Notably, there was a sharp drop in imports between December 2024 to February 2025, and two trade associations have filed a petition against the Union Mines Ministry, highlighting this.
Earlier in 2023, the ministry had issued a quality control order (QCO), regulating the use of copper products. The associations alleged that the stringent quality norms, which came into force last year, have caused acute shortages in supply.
Additionally, India’s copper scrap imports rose to nearly 30,800 t in April, marking the highest monthly inflow since November 2024, when volumes stood at around 31,100 t. While the April figure was relatively flat on a m-o-m basis, it reflects a shift in market sentiment, as downstream refiners and recyclers moved to replenish inventories after a subdued first quarter.
Zinc
Imported zinc diecast from the Middle East was assessed at $2,100/t CFR Mundra, down by $40/t w-o-w, while domestic zinc ingots stood at INR 260,000/t, down by INR 3,000/t.
Zinc ingot prices of Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) stood at INR 264,900/t ex-Jodhpur, down by INR 5,000/t w-o-w.
In FY’25, zinc ingot imports decreased by 5.2% y-o-y to 206,783 t compared to 218,106 t in FY’24. The decline was primarily driven by increased domestic zinc production capacity coming online during the fiscal year, especially from major producers such as Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL), which reduced dependency on imports.
Lead
Domestic primary lead ingot prices remained steady w-o-w at INR 201,000/t, while re-melted ingots were at INR 182,000/t. Meanwhile, HZL’s lead ingots remained steady w-o-w at INR 200,800/t ex-Jodhpur.
Other market updates
HCL plans major copper expansion
Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) aims to triple its annual copper ore output to 12.2 mnt by FY’31 through mine expansions and reopening closed sites. In FY’24, output rose 13% to 3.78 mnt. The company targets 4.35 mnt by FY’26, adding around 2 mnt yearly thereafter. Operations have resumed at Jharkhand’s Rakha mine, with a 250,000 t boost planned at the Kendadih mine.
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