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Informist, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025

By Ashutosh Pati

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of copper edged lower Tuesday on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the London Metal Exchange due to weak economic data from the top consumer, China. However, copper prices are on track for the biggest monthly gains in a year as prices have surged recently due to concerns about supply, according to analysts.

China's manufacturing activity remained in contraction territory for the sixth consecutive month in September. Though the official Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 49.8 in September from 49.4 in August, it remained below the 50.0 mark. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in economic activity.

Copper prices on the domestic exchange have risen around 5% in the last one week after mining giant Freeport-McMoran declared force majeure on contracted supplies from its Grasberg mine in Indonesia. Freeport-McMoRan said it expects 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.

Moreover, Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals announced last week that its Constancia mine in Peru will be temporarily shut down due to riots in Lima and several protests across the country. 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 is likely to exceed the 33,000 tonnes originally forecast by the company.

At 2000 IST, on the MCX, the October futures contract of:
-–ALUMINIUM was at INR 259.60 a kg, up 0.7%
–-Copper was at INR 955.40 a kg, down 0.3%
–-LEAD was steady at INR 182.65 a kg
–-ZINC was at INR 289.05 a kg, up 0.9%

--NICKEL was at INR 1,357.5 a kg, up 0.5%

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:
--Aluminium contract seen at INR 254.50-INR 261.30
--Copper contract seen at INR 933.40-INR 973.60
--Lead contract seen at INR 180.90-INR 183.50
--Zinc contract seen at INR 281.00-INR 292.10
--Nickel contract seen at INR 1,328.10-INR 1,377.90

End

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

Edited by Saji George Titus

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