Commodities

Industrial metals (copper, aluminium, nickel, etc.) daily review (February 19, 2013)

Contributed by Angel Broking

Base metal p rices ended on a negative note in yesterday's session. The fall in the metal prices was due to weak economic growth in the Euro reg ion coupled with decline in the US industrial output. The Chinese retail sales gained at a slower pace during the last week's Luna r New Year. Strength in the DX also pushed prices downwards.

Increase in the LME inventories also restricted prices to move upwards. Appreciation in the Indian rupee led to the fall in the MCX base metal p rices.

Copper

Copper prices continued to extend losses of the previous day and fell 1.4 percent down on Monday. Weak global market sentiments created after observing unfavourable growth in the Euro zone region along with fall in the industrial output in US in the last week weighed on the metal prices in yesterday's session. Market participation was also subdued in the international market on account of President Day holiday in the US. Expectation of demand from the Ch inese buyers after the Lunar New Year holidays was also shadowed.

LME copper inventories gained 0.65 percent and stood at 404,300 tonnes as against 401,675 tonnes on February 15th, 2013.

Copper prices on LME touched an intra-day low of $ 8,107.5 per tonne and closed at $ 8125.25 per tonne on Monday. In the domestic markets, MCX copper fell 1.4 percent and closed at Rs. 442.35 per kg on Monday. Appreciation in rupee in the later part of the day also exerted downside pressure on the copper prices on MCX.

Outlook

In the intra-day we expect base metal prices to trade with an upward bias on account of hopes of revival in demand from China the major consumer of the base metals after the holidays. However, strength in the DX might cap gains in the base metals pack. In the domestic market, MCX prices may track international prices.