Base metals futures on the London Metal Exchange (LME) saw fluctuations on the last trading day. While nickel, copper and zinc were up, aluminium and zinc were on the lower side. Meanwhile, base metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) closed mostly with gains.
Power cuts in China affect non-ferrous metals’ production
Chinese authorities have issued power cuts notification amidst the scorching heat in several parts of the country. This has worried ferrous and non-ferrous industry players as production cuts would lead to the supply shortage in the market.
Market participants are concerned that if power supply cuts continue, the market would have to face a huge supply crunch in the near term.
Base metals market performance – 19 August
SHFE copper rose 1.14%, aluminium marginally up 0.57%, lead gained 0.23%, and zinc added 1.21%.
LME 3-month copper was slightly up by 0.59%, aluminium fell 0.71%, lead down 1.45%, zinc rose 0.43% and nickel up by 2.19%.
MCX aluminium was down 0.56%, nickel fell 0.10%, copper up 0.34%, zinc up 0.23% d-o-d.
Stock levels fall d-o-d
LME registered warehouse stocks of base metals fell by up to 2% d-o-d with copper falling the most by 2.10% followed by lead.
Oil prices down slightly
Brent oil futures fell slightly by 1.05% to $95.08 per barrel and crude oil WTI futures decreased 1% to $89.52 per barrel at the time of reporting.
Currency exchange
The Indian rupee depreciated by 0.17 paise against the US dollar to reach 79.89, close to the 80-mark again, after comments from US Federal Reserve officials over the rate hikes in next month. The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar in a basket of six different currencies, hovered at around $108.26 at the time of reporting.
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