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Informist, Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2025

By J. Navya Sruthi

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of base metals on the Multi Commodity Exchange were mixed on Tuesday. Aluminium futures declined, mirroring losses on the London Metal Exchange amid high stockpiles, and copper prices rose, tracking those on the LME because of decline in inventories, analysts said

As of Monday, stockpiles of ALUMINIUM with Shanghai Metals Exchange rose 3.3% to 464,000 tonnes, Nirmal Bang Securities Pvt. Ltd. said in a note. Aluminium rod inventories have been rising due to subdued summer demand from manufacturers and a slowdown in front-loaded export orders, the firm quoted Xue Tao, an analyst with Soochow Futures Co. as saying.

Aluminium prices came under pressure following US President Donald Trump's announcement that Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. On Monday, prices of the metal had risen as the conflict in West Asia sparked concerns over potential supply disruptions from the region, which accounts for nearly 9% of global aluminium output, the brokerage said.

In a post on Truth Social Tuesday, Trump said the ceasefire between Israel and Iran was now in effect and asked both the parties not to violate the agreement. However, within an hour of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing a ceasefire agreement with Tehran, there were claims of missile attacks from Iran over Israel, as per social media post on X by the Israel Defence Forces.   

The announcement of ceasefire has, however, supported prices of COPPER as the West Asia conflict was a headwind for industrial metal, which is viewed as a proxy to global economic growth. Moreover, a rapid decline in copper inventories at LME warehouses has also supported the prices of the red metal, Nirmal Bang said. 

According to the brokerage, "(LME) spot copper traded at a $280-a-ton premium to three-month futures on Monday, hitting the highest level seen since a record spike in 2021." The huge spot premium—known as a backwardation—signals a supply shortage, and it comes after a rapid drawdown in the LME inventories over the past few months, the brokerage said. Backwardations typically indicate the volume of stock in exchange warehouses is insufficient to meet their needs, it added.  

At 1700 IST, on the MCX, the July futures contract of:

-–Aluminium was at INR 248.3 a kg, down 0.9%

–-Copper was at INR 888.8 a kg, up 0.1%

–-LEAD was steady at INR 180.8 a kg 

–-ZINC was at INR 256.65 a kg, up 0.4%

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:

--Aluminium contract seen at INR 246.50-INR 251 

--Copper contract seen at INR 882-INR 896

--Lead contract seen at INR 179-INR 182.50

--Zinc contract seen at INR 254-INR 259

End

US$1 = INR 85.98

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

Edited by Subhojit Sarkar

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