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Informist, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025

 

By Ashutosh Pati

 

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of copper were steady Wednesday on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the London Metal Exchange as market participants are waiting for the release of the minutes of US Federal Open Market Committee's July meeting later in the day. They are also waiting for the US Fed's Jackson Hole symposium, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell's is scheduled to speak and any comments on the future interest rate trajectory in the country will be closely monitored.

 

China's refined COPPER production fell slightly to 1.27 million tonnes in July from 1.3 million tonnes in the previous month, according to the country's statistics bureau. "This came as Beijing moves to tackle excess output and gluts across a range of sectors including steel and solar," said Daniel Hynes, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ Research, in a note. 

 

"While the copper industry has been granted more leniency, smelters are grappling with economic pressures. The spot treatment charges to process copper ore into metal are still well below zero," Hynes added.

 

The People's Bank of China kept its loan prime rates steady, with its one-year rate at 3.0% and five-year rate at 3.5%, signalling limited urgency for fresh stimulus, Kotak Securities said in a report. "Overall, with subdued summer volumes and limited macro triggers, base metals await fresh catalysts for direction," Kotak Securities added.

 

At 1837 IST, on the MCX, the August futures contract of:
-–Aluminium was at INR 249.15 a kg, up 0.1%
–-Copper was steady at INR 873.50 a kg

–-Lead was at INR 179.25 a kg, up 0.2%
–-Zinc was at INR 265.75 a kg, up 0.6%

 

The September futures contract of nickel was at INR 1,321.00, up 0.2%

 

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:
--Aluminium contract seen at INR 245.10-INR 252.40
--Copper contract seen at INR 859.80-INR 880.80
--Lead contract seen at INR 177.20-INR 180.20
--Zinc contract seen at INR 260.90-INR 268.90

--Nickel contract seen at INR 1,305.00-INR 1,335.00

End

 

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

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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