India Base Metals
Most up on MCX as rupee slumps; down on LME
This story was originally published at 19:59 IST on 25 February 2025
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025
By Ashutosh Pati
MUMBAI – Futures contracts of most base metals traded in the green on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India as the rupee slumped against the dollar. Market participants were also cautious ahead of the US personal consumption expenditures data to be released Friday.
The rupee fell 0.6% against the dollar and settled at 87.21 on Tuesday, its lowest level since Feb. 10, as banks persistently purchased the greenback on behalf of importers and foreign portfolio investors.
On the LME, non-ferrous metals pared losses but continued to trade in the red as the dollar index turned negative. At 1910 IST, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.3% at 106.38.
Prices of all base metals were trading lower on the LME as US President Donald Trump's administration introduced a series of policies that restrict Chinese investment, trade practices, and strategic industries. "LME metals faced declines amid waning market sentiment driven by US restrictions on Chinese investments, impacting both raw materials and equities," Kotak Securities said in a report.
For further cues, market participants will look at US Conference Board consumer confidence data, due later in the day. They will also monitor Beijing's upcoming National People's Congress meeting in March for potential stimulus measures.
COPPER prices were trading lower on the LME. However, the copper market is ready for another sustainable step-up in pricing to $10,500-$11,500 per tonne, Dow Jones quoted analysts at Goldman Sachs as saying. "This will be driven by strong electrification demand, while supply growth will be limited by years of underinvestment in mining capacity," the analysts said.
ZINC prices got further support because of a fall in production. Global production of refined zinc fell 2.6% on year to 13.55 million tonnes in 2024, while consumption rose by a mere 0.1% to 13.61 million tonnes, leading to a deficit of 62,000 tonnes in 2024.
LEAD contracts traded in the red as the global refined lead market recorded a surplus of 36,000 tonnes in 2024.
At 1922 IST, on the MCX, the March futures contract of:
–ALUMINIUM was at INR 261.00 a kg, up 1.1%
–Copper was at INR 869.95 a kg, up 0.5%
–Lead was at INR 176.70 a kg, down 0.3%
–Zinc was at INR 267.95 a kg, up 0.2%
Trading levels for the day on the MCX:
-Aluminium contract seen at INR 253.40-INR 261.40
-Copper contract seen at INR 853.00-INR 875.00
-Lead contract seen at INR 174.70-INR 179.10
-Zinc contract seen at INR 263.10-INR 272.40
End
US$1 = INR 87.21
IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT
Edited by Rajeev Pai
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