The LME and SHFE base metals closed largely lower as a result of the previously bad US GDP data and fall in US’s and China’s manufacturing PMI in July, all of which were issued on 1 August.
Crude oil prices fell by more than 4%, and the US dollar index ended lower on the day.
Most industry experts in India predict that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will increase the repo rate by 35 to 50 basis points (bps) this week at its policy meeting.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for July was 49, down from 50.2 in June.
Base metals market performance – 1 August
- LME nickel down 0.19%, copper dipped 1.24%, aluminium dropped 2.33%, lead rose 0.96%, and zinc jumped 0.59%.
- SHFE nickel lost 1.5%, aluminium lost 1.7%, copper down 1%, zinc dropped 0.7% and lead rose 0.1%.
- Copper, zinc, lead, and aluminium – all had declines of up to 0.8% on the MCX.
- Copper and nickel LME stockpiles increased, but all other base metals experienced a d-o-d decline.
Oil prices drop
US WTI crude oil prices were at $93.7 per barrel after falling more than 4% yesterday, while brent oil futures fell more than 9% to trade below $100 per barrel. As traders counted down to a midweek OPEC+ meeting that will define production strategy for September, oil remained steady after falling to its lowest close in more than five months.
Currency exchange
Yesterday, the Indian rupee strengthened to INR 78.60 against the US dollar. The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar in relation to a basket of six different currencies, was down almost 0.55% to 105.27.
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