Domestic non-ferrous outlook negative as global metal prices crash: Icra

Covid-19 outbreak drags aluminium prices by 16%, zinc by 23%, copper by 20%

The global outbreak of Covid-19 has impacted the non-ferrous metal industry as prices of the three metals-- aluminium, copper and zinc have corrected by over 16 per cent, 23 per cent and 20 per cent respectively since the beginning of the calendar year 2020.

As per an Icra note, the price corrections in this period have been broadly in two phases, the first being in January when the news on the outbreak of Covid-19 in China came to light.

Subsequently prices stabilised in February, albeit at a lower level than December 2019, as the reported number of fresh cases in China declined.