Mumbai, Jan 3: The country's three main copper manufacturers started the New Year with a hike in prices following a rally on the London Metal Exchange (LME), company officials said on Monday.Private producers Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd, Birla Copper and state-run Hindustan Copper hiked continuous cast rods (CC rods) prices by Rs 5,000 per tonne to Rs 121,000.
Birla Copper is a unit of Indo Gulf Corporation.
The new prices, which come into immediate effect, are for the first half of January.
An official of a private copper producer attributed the hike in prices to buoyant domestic demand and an uptrend in LME prices.
He said LME copper had risen by about $80 per tonne in the last fortnight. On December 30, three-months copper futures ended at a new 19-month high of $1,890 a tonne.
The three Indian copper firms also increased their cathode selling prices by Rs 5,000 a tonne to Rs 116,000.
All three producers had left their selling prices unchanged for the second half of December.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.