Non-ferrous metals prices on all major exchanges remained negative in the last trading session on 23 February, 2023. The US dollar, on the other hand, continued to remain high.
Three-month contract prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) inched down in the last session. Aluminum prices inched down by 0.9%, zinc was down by 0.8%, lead decreased by 2.2%, copper fell by 2.3%, while nickel inched down by 3.9%.
MCX futures prices mostly opened at upper levels today. Nickel opened 0.15% lower at INR 2,286/kg, lead up by 0.11% to INR 182/kg and copper increased by 0.30% to INR 765/kg. Aluminum inched down 0.17% to INR 210/kg, while zinc was up 0.11% to INR 270/kg.
Aluminium production remains stable
World’s aluminium production remained largely stable m-o-m with a negligible drop of 0.34% to 5.83 mnt in Jan’23 against 5.85 mnt in Dec’22, as per data from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). China was the largest producer at 3.44 mnt, contributing to around 59% of the world’s aluminium output.
India
India’s domestic aluminium scrap prices remained stable for the third consecutive day owing to less market activities and moderate transactions heard in the local markets for specific grades like utensils and extrusion. Copper armature scrap and rods prices in Delhi were positive yesterday on rising buying enquiries especially for finished products.
Oil prices inch up
Brent oil futures increased by 2% to $82.89 per barrel. However, crude oil WTI futures rose by 2.05% to $76.02 per barrel.
Prices of natural gas were recorded at $2.35/MMBtu at the time of publishing this insight. Prices of natural gas increased by 2.3% as against the last closing.
Dollar index
The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar in a basket of six different currencies, hovered around 104.57 at the time of publishing this insight. The index inched down by 0.03% against the last session.
The rupee was recorded at 82.74 against the US dollar, almost stable against the previous closing.
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