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Informist, Thursday, Jul. 17, 2025

By Ashutosh Pati

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of copper fell on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Thursday, tracking a fall in contracts on the London Metal Exchange because of a rise in the dollar index. Market sentiment was also hit due to rising inventories at warehouses registered with the LME.

At 1753 IST, the dollar index, which measures the strength in the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.5% at 98.75. A strong dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities, such as copper, expensive for those holding other currencies, denting demand.

"Rising LME COPPER inventories suggest that material scheduled for the US is being rerouted back to the LME ahead of the impending tariff deadline," analysts at Sucden Financial said in a note. "LME copper stocks continue to rise as material is rerouted back to the exchange, with the window to ship in time to meet COMEX tariff deadlines quickly closing. This suggests that speculative positioning tied to US copper tariffs is losing momentum," the analysts added.

US President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on copper imports, effective Aug. 1, as part of his efforts to promote domestic mining and metal processing. "We expect LME copper prices to come under pressure in the short term," said Daniel Hynes, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ Research, in a note.

ALUMINIUM and LEAD contracts edged lower on the MCX taking cues from the LME because of a firm dollar.

At 1800 IST, on the MCX, the July futures contract of:
-–Aluminium was at INR 247.90 a kg, down 0.1%
–-Copper was at INR 880.10 a kg, down 0.1%
–-Lead was at INR 178.00 a kg, down 0.1%
–-ZINC was at INR 256.60 a kg, up 0.1%

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:
--Aluminium contract seen at INR 246.30-INR 250.20
--Copper contract seen at INR 875.80-INR 886.90
--Lead contract seen at INR 177.40-INR 179.20
--Zinc contract seen at INR 252.70-INR 259.90

End

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

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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