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Informist, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

 

By Ashutosh Pati

 

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of most base metals on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the London Metal Exchange edged lower Thursday on weak near-term demand in China. Copper prices were also weighed down as traders booked profits after the recent surge.

 

"Copper snapped a two-day rally (on the LME), with prices retreating amid profit-taking and subdued physical buying following the Lunar New Year holiday," Kotak Securities said in a report. Several Chinese fabricators are yet to fully resume operations and are expected to return gradually early next month, delaying a meaningful pickup in consumption, it said.

 

Rising inventories across exchanges also put pressure on COPPER prices. Inventories have continued to build, with stockpiles in the Shanghai Futures Exchange rising to their highest levels since 2024, alongside increasing holdings in London and New York, signalling softer immediate demand after January's record-high prices, Kotak said.

 

Copper prices had risen for the previous two sessions on the LME and for four straight sessions on the domestic bourse, buoyed by the prospect of lower US import tariffs. After the US Supreme Court struck down most tariffs imposed in 2025, President Donald Trump imposed a baseline 10% tariff on all US imports for 150 days, which came into effect Tuesday. Trump also threatened to raise the baseline tariff to 15%, but has yet to sign an executive order to implement it.

 

"This boosted sentiment across the base metal markets, despite sectoral tariffs such as levies on imports of copper products, aluminium and steel remaining in place," Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ Research, said in a note.

 

At 1729 IST, on the MCX, the March futures contract of:

--ALUMINIUM was at INR 311.75 a kg, down 0.5%
--Copper was at INR 1,204.30 a kg, down 0.6%
–-LEAD was at INR 189.15 a kg, down 0.4%
–-ZINC was at INR 325.90 a kg, down 0.8%

--NICKEL was at INR 1,595.10 a kg, down 0.4%

 

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:
--Aluminium contract seen at INR 308.00-INR 314.00

--Copper contract seen at INR 1,190.00-INR 1,220.00
--Lead contract seen at INR 187.00-INR 191.00

--Zinc contract seen at INR 322.00-INR 329.00

--Nickel contract seen at INR 1,560.00-INR 1,640.00

End

 

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

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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