Metals regain some shine

"The domestic demand today for copper was just about 300 tonnes and zinc 200 tonnes compared with about 1,000 tonnes normally," said Surendra Mardiya, vice-president with the Bombay Metal Exchange.

Bullion, too, saw a significant fall in demand today. The demand for gold was pegged at about 40-45 kg compared with over a tonne normally seen during the wedding season.

At 8:00 pm, MCX gold June traded at Rs 10,332 per 10 grams compared with Rs 10,334. Silver June was at Rs 21,048 a kg against Rs 20,873. Domestic spot gold traded at Rs 10,120 per 10 gm and silver at Rs 20,100 a kg.

MCX Copper August traded at Rs 382.50 a kilogram compared with the previous close of Rs 380.40. MCX Aluminium May traded at Rs 139.90 a kg against Rs 138.75, Zinc May at Rs 165.05 a kg against Rs 161.05, Nickel May at Rs 938 a kg against Rs 885.70 and Lead June at Rs 63 a kg against Rs 60.90.

At the London Metal Exchange, overseas spot silver was at $13.23 a troy ounce from its previous close of $13.15, after seeing an intra-day change of $0.20. Spot gold was at $683.70 a troy ounce from the previous close of $680.16, after seeing an intra-day change of $4.7.

"This is a correction, not a meltdown, and funds are seen booking profits. Funds are likely to re-enter metals, be it industrial or precious, as the fundamentals are strong in favour of a price rise," said V Sivaramakrishnan, executive director with Dubai-based Kombench DMCC.