Base metals exhibited a mixed trend on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) on the last trading day while the same trading on the London Metal Exchange (LME) were mostly down except copper.
US PMI data shows signs of manufacturing slowdown
US Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) contracted further to 45 in August, down from 47.7 in July 2022, indicating a second successive monthly decrease in total business activity.
PMI is an indicator of business activity — both in the manufacturing and services sectors. It is a survey-based measures that asks the respondents about changes in their perception of some key business variables from the month before, PMI helps in determining the market conditions.
Base metals market performance – 23 August
SHFE copper rose 0.19%, aluminium jumped 0.83%, lead slid 0.13%, and zinc fell 0.18%.
LME 3-month copper up slightly by 1.16%, aluminium almost stable, lead down 1.84%, zinc fell 0.37% and nickel decreased the most by 2.68%.
MCX aluminum up 0.8%, nickel down 0.4%, lead almost stable, copper up 0.4%, zinc down 0.6% d-o-d.
Stock levels fall marginally d-o-d
LME registered warehouse stocks of base metals fell by up to 0.70% d-o-d. However, zinc stock levels improved by 2.28%, SteelMint notes.
Oil prices up slightly
Brent oil futures rose slightly by 1.09% to $100.26 per barrel and crude oil WTI futures increased 0.11% to $93.93 per barrel at the time of reporting.
Currency exchange
The Indian rupee hovered at around 79.74 against the US dollar, close to the 80-mark. The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar in a basket of six different currencies, hovered at around $108.76 at the time of reporting.
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