Informist, Friday, Dec 15, 2023
By J Navya Sruthi
MUMBAI – Futures contracts of all the base metals continued to rise on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India, tracking those on the London Metal Exchange because of firm economic data from top consumer China.
China's industrial production rose 6.6% on year in November, a 21-month high, the National Bureau of Statistics showed. The data measures the total inflation-adjusted value of output by manufacturers, mines, and utilities. Also, China's retail sales rose by 10.1% on year in November, according to official data released today.
On Thursday, the UK government imposed fresh sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine, prohibiting British citizens and companies from trading in a wide range of Russian metals, which also lifted prices. These measures restrict the buying of metals such as copper, nickel, aluminium, lead and zinc found or originating in Russia starting Dec 15.
Russia produces around 6%, 7%, and 3% of the world's aluminium, nickel, and copper, respectively.
"The prospects of rate cuts in the leading Western industrialised countries have also generated buoyancy on the base metals markets," said Barbara Lambrecht, commodity analyst at Commerzbank in a note.
However, the upside in base metals is restricted due to a strong rupee, which makes commodities priced in dollars cheaper for domestic buyers. The domestic currency settled 0.4% higher at 83 against the dollar.
Market players will take further cues from the latest reports from International Study Groups to be released next week. They will also watch out for the US Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers Index, due later today.
ALUMINIUM prices rose because of firm demand from China and a fall in stock by 2,950 tn at LME-accredited warehouses.
COPPER prices rose due to tightening in the physical market and strong demand from China.
LEAD contracts traded higher because of short-covering of positions by traders on LME and MCX.
ZINC prices rose on the MCX, tracking those on LME because of a fall in stock by 1,575 tn.
At 1802 IST, on the MCX, the December futures contract of:
–Aluminium was at 204.30 rupees a kg, up 1.9%
–Copper was at 728.0 rupees a kg, up 0.1%
–Lead was at 184.90 rupees a kg, up 0.3%
–Zinc was at 223.10 rupees a kg, up 0.6%
Outlook for the evening session on the MCX:
–Aluminium contract seen at 200.0-209.0 rupees
–Copper seen at 721.4-735.0 rupees
–Lead seen at 181.0-189.0 rupees
–Zinc seen at 219.0-227.0 rupees
End
US$1 = 83.00 rupees
IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT
Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj
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