- India’s imported aluminium scrap tags rise $30-50/t
- Copper tags in India rise amid uptrend in LME futures
At the close of trading on 25 April 2025, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) showed a slight uptrend, with zinc witnessing the highest gain of 2.68% w-o-w. Meanwhile, LME warehouse stocks exhibited negative trends w-o-w, with zinc falling the steepest, by 7.83%.
On the LME, three-month aluminium stood at $2,428/tonne (t), up by 0.266%, while nickel prices dipped by 0.49% w-o-w to $15,545/t. Copper prices were at $9,374/t, up by 2.02% w-o-w, while zinc increased by 2.38% w-o-w to $2,646/t. Lead was up by 1.44% w-o-w to $1,944/t.
India’s imported aluminium scrap prices rose by up to $30-50/t w-o-w, supported by a tightening raw material supply in the global market.
BigMint’s latest assessments indicate that Tense scrap from the US stood at $1,930/t, up by $10/t w-o-w, while Wheels from the UK increased by $50/t w-o-w to $2,460/t, both on a CFR west coast India basis.
In the domestic market, Tense scrap prices in both Delhi and Chennai inched up by INR 6,000/t compared to last week. According to BigMint’s assessment, domestic Tense scrap stood at INR 190,000/t ex-Delhi-NCR and INR 191,000/t ex-Chennai.
India’s copper scrap prices continued to rise this week, driven by persisting global supply shortages in both raw material and semi-finished segments and an increase in LME futures.
Copper armature scrap was assessed at INR 790,000/t ex-Delhi, up by INR 5,000/t w-o-w, while motors mix tags moved up w-o-w by $70/t to $1,220/t.
Secondary continuously cast rods (CCRs) (99.9%) were assessed at INR 844,000/t ex-Delhi, up by INR 7,000/t w-o-w. Meanwhile, primary CCR prices stood at INR 860,000/t, up by INR 10,000/t w-o-w.
Imported zinc diecast from the Middle East was assessed at $2,145/t CFR Mundra, up by $5/t w-o-w, while domestic zinc ingots inched up by INR 6,000/t w-o-w to INR 264,000/t.
Zinc ingot prices of Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) dropped slightly by INR 2,000/t w-o-w to INR 266,500/t ex-Jodhpur.
Lead
Domestic primary lead ingot prices remained range-bound at INR 199,000/t, while re-melted ingots stood at INR 179,000/t. Meanwhile, HZL lead ingots were range-bound w-o-w at INR 195,900/t ex-Jodhpur.
Chinese base metals market overview
In the week ending 26 April, deliverable base metals inventories at warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) displayed a negative picture, with copper showing the highest drop of 32% w-o-w to 116,753 t, according to the exchange’s weekly stock report.
Other updates
Antamina copper-zinc mine suspended following fatal accident
Operations at the Antamina copper and zinc mine in Peru have been fully suspended as a security measure following a fatal accident on 22 April. The incident, which occurred at the Yanacancha camp in the Huari district of the Ancash region, resulted in the death of the mine’s senior operations manager and injuries to another employee.
The mine, which is majority-owned by global mining giant Glencore and Australia’s BHP, is currently under investigation to determine the cause of the accident. It remains unclear whether the shutdown will lead to extended operational delays.
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