Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) were mostly up w-o-w last week. Chinese officials’ announcement of the gradual unlocking of regions such as Shanghai also spurred base metal prices higher.
Aluminium prices up on strong LME prices
Indian domestic base-metals market was influenced by LME’s three-month prices and the uptrend in upstream industries.
SteelMint’s price assessment for aluminium tense scrap stood at INR 163,000/t ($2,095/t), rising by INR 2,000/t ($26/t) w-o-w exy-Delhi. Also, better transactions were seen following strengthening exchange prices from the past week. LME aluminium cash prices were up by 8% w-o-w which led to a recovery in domestic scrap prices.
Tight stocks levels at LME registered warehouses also lent support to aluminium prices. Aluminium stocks fell by around 35,500 t to 504,275 t w-o-w at LME-registered warehouses.
Meanwhile, ADC12 prices stood at INR 207,000/t ($2,660/t), exw-Faridabad, up by INR 2,000/t ($26/t) on a w-o-w basis. Further, Middle-East aluminium scrap import prices increased in the range of $10-40/t CIF Nhava Sheva on 17 May w-o-w.
LME nickel prices move up marginally
The LME nickel cash prices were up by 2% to $27,950 w-o-w whereas stocks fluctuated throughout the week, falling by 810 t to 71,898 t yesterday.
However, SteelMint’s assessment of stainless-steel grade 304 scrap was recorded at INR 165,000/t ($2,120/t), down INR 10,000/t ($129/t) w-o-w, and grade 316 scrap at INR 260,000/t ($3,341/t), down by INR 13,000/t ($167/t) w-o-w, exy-Delhi.
Copper prices rebound
Copper prices, both cash and three-months contract, showed an uptrend by upto 8% towards the end of this week, after seeing a negative price trend from past few weeks.
Notably, LME copper prices bounced back after hovering at around 4-month lows in the previous week, the period from which SteelMint has started maintaining data.
SteelMint’s assessment for copper armature scrap exy-Delhi stood at INR 721,000/t ($9,265/t), up INR 10,000/t ($129/t) w-o-w.
LME zinc on uptrend, zinc ingots fall
LME zinc prices, both cash and three-month contract, showed a positive trend this week. However, SteelMint’s assessment for special high grade (SHG) zinc ingots prices witnessed a downward correction by around 2% to INR 320,000/t ($4,112/t), exw-Delhi on 19 May 2022, w-o-w. The market saw very few buying inquiries which also resulted in a fall in prices.
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