- Copper sees highest w-o-w gain of 2%
- China copper imports fall in 4MCY’25
At close of trading on 23 May 2025, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) showed diverging trends w-o-w, with copper witnessing the highest gain of 1.71%. Meanwhile, LME warehouse stocks exhibited mixed trends, with lead gaining the steepest, by 18.15%.
On the LME, three-month aluminium stood at $2,464/tonne (t), down by 0.75%, while nickel decreased by 0.35% w-o-w to $15,594/t. Copper prices were at $9,610/t, up by 1.71% w-o-w, while zinc increased by 0.35% w-o-w to $2,702/t. Lead was down by 0.45% w-o-w to $1,991/t.
India’s imported aluminium scrap prices exhibited mixed trends w-o-w, influenced by robust global demand, fluctuating LME prices, and ongoing supply constraints.
BigMint’s latest assessments indicate that Tense scrap from the US stood at $1,970/t, steady w-o-w, while Wheels from the UK stood at $2,500/t, both CFR west coast India.
In the domestic market, Tense scrap prices in both Delhi and Chennai remained steady as compared to last week. According to BigMint’s assessment, domestic Tense scrap stood at INR 196,000/t ex-Delhi-NCR and INR 197,000/t ex-Chennai.
A major Indian automaker has raised its ADC12 settlement prices by INR 5,850/t m-o-m to INR 226,750/t for June, a 3-year peak, last seen in May 2022. The increase is driven by strong imported aluminium scrap prices and lower aluminium alloy imports. Consequently, the scrap-to-ADC12 spread in June 2025 narrowed by INR 4,150/t m-o-m to INR 31,000-32,000/t due to an increase in tense scrap prices.
Copper
India’s copper scrap prices remained range-bound this week.
Copper armature scrap was assessed at INR 786,000/t ex-Delhi, drown by INR 4,000/t, while motors mix remained steady w-o-w at $1,170/t.
Secondary continuously cast rods (CCRs) (99.90%) were assessed at INR 840,000/t ex-Delhi, reflecting a decrease of INR 6,000/t w-o-w. Meanwhile, primary CCR prices stood at INR 876,000/t, up by INR 4,000/t w-o-w.
Zinc
Imported zinc diecast from the Middle East was assessed at $2,130/t CFR Mundra, down by $20/t w-o-w, while domestic zinc ingots inched up by INR 4,000/t w-o-w to INR 266,000/t down by INR 2,000/t.
Zinc ingot prices of Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) were stable w-o-w at INR 270,000/t ex-Jodhpur.
Lead
Domestic primary lead ingot prices stood at INR 201,000/t, while re-melted ingots were at INR 181,000/t. Meanwhile, HZL lead ingots were up by INR 3,000/t w-o-w to INR 200,500/t ex-Jodhpur.
Other market updates
China’s copper scrap dynamics: China’s copper scrap imports dipped slightly in the first four months of 2025, reflecting growing uncertainty and shifting trade dynamics. A key reason behind the softening was reduced supply from the United States, following the impact of higher tariffs. Many Chinese traders have pulled back from purchasing US-origin scrap, leading to a significant drop in shipments.
Global aluminuim production: Global aluminium production decreased by 3% to 6.033 mnt in April from 6.23 mnt in March, according to the latest data from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). Notably, China’s output decreased 3% m-o-m to 3.62 mnt, while, y-o-y, production increased by 3%.
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