Copper futures prices on the MCX platform fell by 5% on the week ended on Friday over the previous week, after an attempt by US Federal failed to alleviate credit concerns, and on speculation that a slowdown in the US will curb demand for the red metal. In lead metal, futures prices also declined sharply by 7%, mainly on reports of physical lead premium in Europe set lower for the year 2008.
On the other hand, gold remained steady last week with limited buying support, while crude oil futures recovered 5% over the previous week, on reports of fallen inventories and the jump in consumption in 2008.
The active February 2008 copper contract was down 5.2% to trade at Rs 258.25 per kg. The open interest was 17,724 kg, up from 12,647 kg the previous week. Total volume was 20,922 tonne, up from 14,419 tonne. ?We recommend selling MCX (Feb) contract at Rs 260-265 a kg with a stop loss above Rs 270 levels and targeting Rs 250 a kg,? Debjyoti Chattergee, analyst with MAPE group said.
The current December 2007 lead contract was down 6.93% to trade at Rs 97.35 per kg. The open interest was 9,805 tonne, up from 9,474 tonne the previous week. The total volume was 13,120 tonne, up from 7,482 tonne. The metal has lost around 36% in LME since October, tumbling to a six-month low of $2,410 per tonne earlier this week, on expectations of higher supplies from Australia and inventories.
The active January crude oil contract was higher 5% to trade at Rs.3, 654 per barrel. The Open interest was 6.85 lakh barrels, up by about 3 lakh barrels, while total volume also increased to 5.89 lakh barrels from 2.20 lakh barrels. Crude oil demand growth will jump by 2.1m barrels a day in 2008, as strong Middle East consumption will offset the US economic slowdown and the impact of record prices, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
The active December gold contract was steady at Rs 10,173 per 10 gram. Open interest was 9,957 kg, up from 9,474 kg over the previous week. Total volume was 13,120 kg, up from 7,482 kg in the previous week.