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Informist, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025

By Ashutosh Pati

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of copper on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India fell Thursday, tracking a decline in contracts on the London Metal Exchange because of a recovery in the dollar index. Market sentiment was also hurt due to rising supply of the metal and US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's relatively hawkish stance.

At 1941 IST, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.5% at 97.49. A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities such as copper expensive for those holding other currencies, thereby denting demand for such metals.

The US Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday voted to reduce the federal funds target rate range by 25 basis points to 4.00-4.25%, after keeping it unchanged for five consecutive meetings. In its economic projections, the panel indicated chances of two additional 25-bps rate cuts this year. While the decisions and projections were along market expectations, the tone of the panel and Powell is what led traders to pull back from aggressive rate cut bets, leading to strengthening of the dollar, putting further pressure on copper prices.

While terming the rate cut a "risk management cut", Powell explicitly stated that "more aggressive rate cuts did not receive broad support" and reiterated that the impact of tariffs on inflation was only temporary. Members said that policy would be decided "meeting by meeting" and warned "there's no risk-free path" ahead.

Meanwhile, leading copper producer Chile expects output to rise this year and next, aiming for a record 6 million tonnes by 2027, ICICI Direct said in a report. Moreover, higher metals output in China would weigh on prices. According to the data, China's copper production rose 15% on-year in August, the report said.

Market focus is now turning back to the impact of US tariffs on global economy and on industrial metals, analysts said.

At 1935 IST, on the MCX, the September futures contract of:
-–ALUMINIUM was at INR 258.95 a kg, up 0.6%
–-Copper was at INR 902.80 a kg, down 0.1%
–-LEAD was steady at INR 183.00 a kg
–-ZINC was at INR 278.75 a kg, down 0.2%

The October futures contract of NICKEL was at INR 1,335.00 a kg, down 0.5%

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:
--Aluminium contract seen at INR 257.00-INR 261.00
--Copper contract seen at INR 888.00-INR 908.00
--Lead contract seen at INR 182.00-INR 184.00
--Zinc contract seen at INR 276.00-INR 281.00
--Nickel contract seen at INR 1,315.00-INR 1,355.00

End

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

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

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