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Informist, Monday, Jun. 16, 2025

By Ashutosh Pati

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of most base metals on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India rose Monday, tracking a rise in contracts on the London Metal Exchange because of a weak dollar. Market sentiment was also lifted by a fall in inventories of most metals at warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

At 1631 IST, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.3% at 97.94. A weaker dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities such as base metals cheaper for those holding other currencies, aiding demand.

COPPER inventories at Shanghai Futures Exchange-monitored warehouses fell by 5,461 tonnes to 101,943 tonnes and ALUMINIUM inventories fell by 1,599 tonnes to 110,001 tonnes. ZINC stocks declined by 1,546 tonnes to 45,466 tonnes. LEAD inventories, however, rose by 1,875 tonnes to 49,811 tonnes.

Despite a fall in stocks, aluminium prices traded in the red owing to a rise in production in China. China's monthly primary aluminium production rose 5% on year to 3.8 million tonnes in May as domestic mills increased production amid rising profit margin, analysts at ING said in a report citing the National Bureau of Statistics Cumulatively, output increased 4% year-on-year to 18.6 million tonnes over the first five months of the year.

Market participants will take further cues from the US core retail sales data due Tuesday.  

At 1702 IST, on the MCX, the June futures contract of:

-–Aluminium was at INR 241.65 a kg, down 0.2%

–-Copper was at INR 878.10 a kg, up 0.3%

–-Lead was at INR 179.55 a kg, up 0.1% 

–-Zinc was at INR 252.20 a kg, up 0.4% 

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:

--Aluminium contract seen at INR 234.80-INR 249.20

--Copper contract seen at INR 859.40-INR 889.70

--Lead contract seen at INR 177.90-INR 181.20

--Zinc contract seen at INR 243.20-INR 258.50

End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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