Copper Futures are Dropping as Investors Avoid Dodgier Investments

During the first hours of trading on Tuesday morning, February copper futures were trading at INR 768 per quintal on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), down 0.27 percent from the previous close of INR 770.10, and March copper futures were at INR 771.45 per quintal, down 0.18 percent from the prior close of INR 772.85.

According to reports, MMG Ltd may halt operations at its Las Bambas copper mine in Peru by February 20 because the local population has blocked a route utilised by the miner. As a result, the corporation has scaled back its activities. The stockpiles stored in LME-approved warehouses totalled 70,125 tonnes. Reports further notified this is the lowest stock price since November 2005.

On the London Metal Exchange, three-month copper contracts were trading at USD 9,874.50 a tonne, a flat 0.46 percent. The reports mentioned that the investors opted to cut down on risky assets due to tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Copper prices were also affected because of this. They also predicted that total finance demand and allocation in the copper sector would remain stable this year, despite certain Chinese real estate enterprises being in debt.

On global commodities exchanges, crude oil futures displayed a mixed structure. During the earliest hours of trading on the MCX, March crude oil futures traded at INR 7,017 against a previous close of INR 6,983, up 0.49 percent, while February futures traded at INR 7,159 against an earlier close of INR 7,108, rose by 0.72 percent. April Brent oil futures were down 0.72 percent at USD 95.79 a barrel, while March WTI crude oil futures were down 0.78 percent at USD 94.72.

As per the market sources, investors profited from the price increase on Monday. Due to the rising stresses between Russia and Ukraine, investors are wary. However, a possible nuclear deal between the United States and Iran might assist lower crude oil prices by allowing Iran to provide crude oil to global markets.

On the MCX, February natural gas futures were trading at INR 318.80 per mmBtu in the early hours of Tuesday morning, up 1.50 percent from the previous close of Rupees 314.10; while March futures were trading at INR 317.10 per mmBtu, up 1.37 percent from the prior close of INR 312.80.

April kapas (raw cotton) futures were trading at INR 2,053.5 a quintal on the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) in the early hours of Tuesday morning, up 0.17 percent from the previous close of INR 2,050. On the NCDEX, March castor seed futures were trading at USD 6,768 a quintal in the early hours of Tuesday morning, down 0.53 percent from the previous close of USD 6,804.