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Informist, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025

By Ashutosh Pati

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of copper edged lower on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday as market participants remain cautious ahead of the release of key US jobs report later in the day. However, continued concerns about tight supply limited the fall in COPPER prices.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its long-awaited combined employment reports for October and November, following delays to data collection during the longest US government shutdown in history. "With year end thinning volumes, price action across the complex has become increasingly volatile, leaving markets vulnerable to sharp, short-term swings," Kotak Securities said in a report.

"Despite a modest pullback, copper remains firmly supported, up around 33% year-to-date and on track for its strongest annual performance since 2009," Kotak Securities said. Structural supply disruptions, sustained inflows into US inventories amid trade uncertainty, and expectations of rising demand from artificial intelligence data centers and the energy transition continue to underpin prices of the metal, it added.

Meanwhile, ALUMINIUM production in China fell to just under 3.8 million tonnes in November, slightly below the previous month's level. "Even though there was a slight increase when adjusted for calendar days, the trend since early summer has been one of stagnation in China's aluminium production. China's aluminium smelters are thus complying with government restrictions, which had set an annual capacity limit of 45 million tons," analysts at Commerzbank said in a report.

At 1638 IST, on the MCX, the December futures contract of:
-–Aluminium was at INR 281.20 a kg, up 0.4%
--Copper was at INR 1,107.65 a kg, down 0.2%
–-LEAD was steady at INR 181.35 a kg
–-ZINC was at INR 304.75 a kg, down 1.3%

The January futures contract of NICKEL was at INR 1,300.00 a kg, up 0.5%

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:
--Aluminium contract seen at INR 276.10-INR 286.30
--Copper contract seen at INR 1,073.70-INR 1,137.30
--Lead contract seen at INR 179.30-INR 182.50
--Zinc contract seen at INR 294.80-INR 314.10

--Nickel contract seen at INR 1,290.00-INR 1,310.00

End

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

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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