Local base metals shift gears on LME surge

Domestic base metals producers revised basic selling prices of their products in line with the movement on the London Metal Exchange (LME).

State-run copper producer Hindustan Copper cut its product prices by 3 per cent or Rs 10,300 across the board, while aluminium majors like Hindalco Industries and National Aluminium Company (Nalco) hiked the prices of primary metal products by Rs 9,000 a tonne and Rs 8000 a tonne, respectively.

Nalco had hiked product prices by Rs 2,500 a tonne on October 16. With the downward revision, copper cathode (full), provisionally, is quoted at Rs 3,59,200 a tonne and cathode cut at Rs 3,60,600 a tonne. Wire bar (full), provisionally, is selling at Rs 3,66,000 a tonne, while standard rod is quoted at Rs 3,65,800 a tonne.

Hindustan Copper had settled the final prices at approximately Rs 11,000 lower levels in October than that in November.

The prices of copper cathode (full) and cut for October were finally fixed at Rs 3,78,107 (Rs 3,88,929) a tonne and Rs 3,79,607 (Rs 3,90,429) a tonne, respectively. The price of wire bar full was finalised at Rs 3,85,268 (Rs 3,96,199) a tonne.

Domestic metals producers revise their selling prices in regular intervals depending upon the price movement on LME. While Hindustan Copper changes product prices once a month, Nalco, Hindalco and Hindustan Zinc revise their prices as and when there is a drastic price movement on the world's premier metal trading platform.

Hindustan Zinc might revise its prices upward very soon, analysts said.

On the LME, copper price declined by $196 to $7,409 a tonne, while aluminium and zinc prices surged by $276.5 and $889 a tonne, respectively, to $2,834 and $4,289 a tonne, respectively, during October 2-31.

The sharp price movement was attributed mainly to a drastic makeshift in inventories. Continuous arrivals lifted copper inventories by 13,625 tonne to 1,30,500 tonne during the same period, while the unabated way-out and lack of way-in dented aluminium and zinc stocks by 12,425 tonne and 31,500 tonne, respectively, to 6,75,900 tonne and 1,07,625 tonne, respectively.