Copper prices on the wane

Fall attributed to labour strike in Chile, dollar appreciation

Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) as well as in the domestic market came under pressure after the news of labour strikes in Chile had broken out. The dollar appreciation also contributed to the fall in copper tags.

The prices declined 7 per cent on the LME in the last four trading sessions, falling by $550 to $7,601 on Wednesday from $8,151 on July 14.

In the domestic market, the prices dropped 2.40 per cent over the last week, down by Rs 10 a kg to Rs 408 from Rs 418 on July 13.

In May, copper prices touched a record high on the back lower stocks and higher demand, especially from China, the world's biggest consumer of copper with several fabricating plants.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange of India, the August contract was quoting at Rs 359.85 on Wednesday, down 5.20 per cent in the last four trading sessions, while the November contracts declined 5.39 per cent during the same period.

The domestic copper scrap metals have gone down 2-6 per cent in the last four trading sessions, with utensil scrap and light scrap down by Rs 22 and Rs 20 a kg, respectively. While copper utensil scrap closed at Rs 320, copper light scrap at Rs 350.

Copper sheet cutting too decline by Rs 17 to Rs 345 a kg, while copper cable scrap (Rs 380) and copper heavy scrap (Rs 370) were down by Rs 10 a kg each.