Copper futures were trading lower on global commodity exchanges on Tuesday morning on investors shifting from riskier assets and Chinese reports of demand unlikely to witness any major change this year.
February copper futures were trading at ₹768 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hours of trading on Tuesday morning against the previous close of ₹770.10 a quintal, down by 0.27 per cent, and March copper futures were at ₹771.45 against the previous close of ₹772.85, down by 0.18 per cent.
The three-month copper contracts on LME (London Metal Exchange) were trading at $9,874.50 a tonne, down by 0.46 per cent.
Reports said the investors decided to reduce investments in riskier assets amidst the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. This made an impact on copper prices also. They also said overall financing demand and allocation will not see much change in the copper sector this year as some Chinese real estate firms were facing debts.
Crude oil mixed
Crude oil futures showed a mixed trend on global commodity exchanges.
March crude oil futures were trading at ₹7,017 on MCX during initial hours of trading against the previous close of ₹6,983, up by 0.49 per cent; and the February futures were trading at ₹7159 against the previous close of ₹7,108, up by 0.72 per cent.
April Brent oil futures were at $95.79 per barrel, down by 0.72 per cent; and March crude oil futures on WTI at $94.72, down by 0.78 per cent.
Market reports said investors booked profits from the price rally on Monday. Investors are a bit hesitant because of the increase in tension between Russia and Ukraine. However, a probable nuclear deal between the US and Iran could help bring down prices of crude oil, as such a move would help Iran supply crude oil to the global markets.
On MCX, February natural gas futures were trading at ₹318.80 per mmBtu in the initial hour of Tuesday morning against the previous close of ₹314.10, up by 1.50 per cent; and March futures were trading at ₹317.10 against the previous close of ₹312.80, up by 1.37 per cent.
Kapas up
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), April kapas (raw cotton) futures were trading at ₹2,053.5 a quintal in the initial hour of Tuesday morning against the previous close of ₹2,050 — up by 0.17 per cent.
March castorseed futures were trading at ₹6,768 per quintal on NCDEX in the initial hour of Tuesday morning against the previous close of ₹6,804, down by 0.53 per cent.