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Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025

By Ashutosh Pati

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of copper on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the London Metal Exchange surged on Wednesday due to concerns about supply after mining giant Freeport-McMoran declared force-majeure on contracted supplies from its Grasberg mine in Indonesia. On the domestic exchange, COPPER prices rose to a 16-month high of INR 945.50 per kilogram.

According to media reports, Freeport-McMoran said it was expecting consolidated sales to be lower by around 4% for copper and nearly 6% for gold in the third quarter, compared to its previous forecast. The Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia, the world's second largest copper mine, suspended operations after a large flow of wet material blocked access to parts of the underground mine, restricting evacuation routes for workers.

Market participants continue to assess supply disruptions in major copper mines across the globe. Chilean state-owned mining company Codelco said its biggest mine, El Teniente, could take longer to return to full production than originally planned after a deadly tunnel collapse in July. The fall in production will probably exceed the 33,000 tonnes originally forecast by the company.

Continuing concerns of a supply shortage, primarily of copper ore, are likely to have been one of the main reasons for the sharp rise in copper prices this year, which are up 14% since Jan. 1, Commerzbank said in a report. However, the German bank expects the price of copper on LME to fall back below the $10,000 per tonne mark in the coming months as the effects of tariffs imposed by the US, even if not as severe as initially assumed, will leave their mark on the real economy, particularly on the US and China.

At 2001 IST, on the MCX, the October futures contract of:
-–ALUMINIUM was at INR 257.00 a kg, down 0.5%
–-Copper was at INR 942.50 a kg, up 2.7%
–-LEAD was at INR 183.90 a kg, up 0.3%
–-ZINC was at INR 284.60 a kg, up 1.0%

--NICKEL was at INR 1,348.40 a kg, up 0.1%

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:
--Aluminium contract seen at INR 255.00-INR 259.00
--Copper contract seen at INR 935.00-INR 952.00
--Lead contract seen at INR 182.00-INR 185.00
--Zinc contract seen at INR 282.00-INR 287.00
--Nickel contract seen at INR 1,330.00-INR 1,370.00

End

US$1 = INR 88.69

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

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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