| At the LME, the market is abuzz of the metal running up to the $6,000 a tonne level. A strike at the world number three producer Grupo Mexico renewed pressure on limited global copper inventories. |
| Three-month LME copper futures hit a fresh record peak of $5,280 a tonne overnight in Asia. In mid-session dealing they were $5,240, versus $5,250 at the close on Friday. |
| Among other metals, zinc rose to a new peak of $2,630 a tonne in Asia, silver hit a 22-year high of $10.90 an ounce. Gold was about $10 away from a quarter-century high. The effect of supply disruptions has been made more acute by low stock levels around the world. |
| Price hike might also put a dent on Chinese imports of the metal. China consumes around 20 per cent of the world's copper. Traders had anticipated Chinese imports of refined copper to rise above 80,000 tonne in March as fabricating plants ramped up production, but with copper at record highs, many now see imports between 60,000 and 70,000 tonne. |
| In the domestic market, Hindustan Copper had earlier this month raised copper provisional selling prices by Rs 1,300 a tonne across all categories With this hike, copper wire bar 8 mm was quoting at Rs 2,47,500 a tonne, while wire bar in the 11-16 mm range was at Rs 2,49,400 a tonne. |
| Zinc prices are already ruling at all-time high levels. Last week, Hindustan Zinc had revised prices twice taking the metal to the Rs 1,31,500 per tonne level. Traders added that brass prices will also go up by Rs 4,000 per kg. |
| With the government announcing a customs duty cut on non-ferrous metals to 7.5 per cent from 10 per cent earlier, copper is expected to remain firm in the domestic markets. Although fundamentals like lower premia, rising supplies and signs of a price rally are weakening, there are still some compelling reasons to remain bullish on the copper outlook. |
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