- Iceland smelters restart ahead of schedule
- Oil climbs on US-Iran tensions
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange (LME) delivered a mixed performance day-on-day. Aluminium slipped 0.40% to $3,077/t, while zinc eased 0.10% to $3,351/t and lead declined 2.46% to $1,903/t. In contrast, nickel advanced 1.75% to $17,585/t and copper gained 1.11% to $13,011/t.
Warehouse inventory trends were largely weaker. Aluminium stocks fell 0.42% to 471,550 tonnes, while nickel inventories dropped sharply by 15.48% to 243,175 tonnes. Zinc stocks edged down 0.30% to 101,250 tonnes. Meanwhile, copper inventories increased 0.56% to 243,175 tonnes, and lead stocks were unchanged at 286,325 tonnes.
Domestic market overview
Domestic non-ferrous scrap prices in India were largely steady across major markets. Aluminium Tense Scrap (Solid, Loose), ex-Delhi, remained unchanged at INR 218,000/t, while Aluminium Tense Scrap (Solid, Loose), ex-Chennai, also held flat at INR 225,000/t, reflecting balanced market activity.
Meanwhile, Copper Armature Scrap (Cu 99%), ex-Delhi, declined by INR 3,000 or 0.3% to INR 1,127,000/t from INR 1,130,000/t, indicating mild downward pressure in the copper scrap segment.
Other market updates
EGA and Century sign downstream aluminium plan
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), Century Aluminum and US Aluminum Company have agreed to explore the development of a downstream fabrication plant near the proposed Oklahoma Primary Aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma. US Aluminum Company, founded by the Plotkin family of Oklahoma City, plans to build a facility to process liquid aluminium into products for the electrical, defence, aerospace, automotive and machinery sectors. The Oklahoma Primary Aluminum project is expected to significantly expand US primary aluminium output and position Inola as a key manufacturing hub. Construction is targeted to begin by the end of this year, with first metal production anticipated before the end of the decade.
Century Aluminum accelerates Iceland smelter recovery
Century Aluminum expects to restart operations at its Grundartangi smelter in Iceland by the end of April, six months ahead of schedule, following an electrical equipment failure in October that cut output at the 320,000-ton facility by two-thirds. While new transformers are delayed until the fourth quarter due to strong data centre demand, CEO Jesse Gary said repairs to existing units will allow Line 2 to return to near-full capacity in April. The disruption reduced fourth-quarter shipments by 14%, though the company forecasts a modest 2.6% year-on-year decline in 2026, supported by the Iceland restart and a planned 50,000-ton output increase at its Mt. Holly project in South Carolina.
Oil prices rise ahead of US-Iran nuclear talks
Oil prices climbed to near seven-month highs as markets reacted to rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran ahead of a third round of nuclear negotiations scheduled in Geneva later this week, with traders pricing in a risk premium on the possibility of supply disruption from the Middle East. Brent crude and US oil benchmarks both strengthened, driven more by fears of conflict than by any immediate physical shortage, as heightened military posturing and diplomatic uncertainty kept energy markets on edge.
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