More Stories

Informist, Friday, Jun. 19, 2026

 

By Reshma Ravi

 

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of copper on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the London Metal Exchange fell on Friday, as market sentiment was weighed down by a hawkish US Federal Reserve outlook after policymakers left interest rates unchanged but signalled increasing support for rate hikes later this year. However, the fall in prices is likely to be limited due to strong demand.

 

"Copper led the base metals higher, as the prospect of tighter monetary policy dented sentiment. The outlook for US interest rates has a global bearing on commodity markets, with higher rates raising costs for importers," Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, wrote in a note. "The outlook for US interest rates has a global bearing on commodity markets, with higher rates raising costs for importers," he said.

 

Nine of the US central bank's 19 policymakers now believe ‌they will need to raise the policy rate this year, according to projections published on Wednesday after the Fed announced its decision to leave the policy rate in its current 3.50-3.75% range in Kevin Warsh's debut policy meeting as chairman. Higher interest rates dampen demand prospects for growth-dependent industrial metals. 

 

However, the fall in COPPER prices is likely to be limited due to strong demand. The surge in investment in infrastructure required to connect data centres to the grid in the US and elsewhere is expected to boost consumption. "...underlying fundamentals for copper remain supportive. Global refined copper production is expected to slow sharply this year and China is expected to shift from a surplus to a tighter balance due to stronger domestic consumption and constrained concentrate availability," analysts at Kedia Advisory said in a note. 

 

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Goldman Sachs raised its average aluminium price forecast, citing an assumption that West Asian production will face a slower recovery despite the deal to end the war. It now sees the average third quarter 2026 aluminium price at $3,300 a tonne and the average 2027 price at $2,950 per tonne, up from previous views of $3,200 and $2,750 per tonne, respectively.

 

At 1608 IST, on the MCX, the June futures contract of:

--ALUMINIUM was at INR 358.15 a kg, up 0.3%
--Copper was at INR 1,311.70 a kg, down 0.8%
–-LEAD was at INR 203.40 a kg, down 0.3%
–-ZINC was at INR 369.60 a kg, down 0.3%

 

The July futures contract of NICKEL was at INR 1,702.30 a kg, down 0.2%.

 

Trading levels for the day on the MCX:
--Aluminium contract seen at INR 355.00-INR 361.00

--Copper contract seen at INR 1,300.00-INR 1,320.00
--Lead contract seen at INR 202.00-INR 205.00

--Zinc contract seen at INR 367.00-INR 371.00

--Nickel contract seen at INR 1,680.00-INR 1,720.00

 

End

 

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

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000 

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.