Gold prices struggle to hold onto gains after key U.S. data showed inflation picked up in June as expected, potentially signaling companies are starting to pass on tariff costs to consumers. Futures are down 0.1% at $3,357.50 a troy ounce following a 0.5% rise earlier in the session.
Source – The Wall Street Journal
China urged the United States on Thursday to halt an investigation into potential new tariffs on copper imports to rebuild U.S. production of the critical metal, vowing to retaliate if Chinese entities got caught up in the levies.
“We urge the U.S. side to withdraw its investigation as soon as possible,” He said.
“If the U.S. insists on imposing tariffs and other restrictive measures, China will resolutely take the required steps to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” He said, without giving any further details.
Source – Reuters
With tensions running high between historic allies over U.S. tariffs, global trade, and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, big powers look unlikely to pull together swiftly this time to resolve the issues driving interest in bullion as a haven from risk, analysts say.
The metal’s surge above $3,000 an ounce, driven most recently by U.S. President Donald Trump’s new round of tariffs on trading partners, has been the first time in a long time that geopolitics and economic uncertainty have served as the top factors moving the gold market, HSBC analyst James Steel said.
While the market has this year conquered a series of milestones, one more remains. StoneX analyst Rhona O’Connell noted that gold peaked at $850 in January of 1980, which in dollar terms would equate to $3,486 today.
Source – Reuters
Goldman Sachs says U.S. net copper imports could rise by 50%-100% in the coming months due to higher U.S. prices before the Trump administration’s planned tariffs, which the bank believes will be imposed at 25% and lead to the surge in imports and a 200K-300K-ton increase in U.S. copper inventories by the end of Q3.
“We maintain our forecast that the LME month-month price will average $10,200/ton in 2024 Q3, and see the impact of inventory dislocation predominantly in timespreads,” the bank writes.
Source – Seeking Alpha
Chile, the world’s No. 1 copper producer, will boost its output of the red metal to 5.54 million metric tons in 2034, representing a 5.6% increase from 2023, state-run copper commission Cochilco said on Wednesday.
Source – Reuters
Copper prices drifted higher on Wednesday as investors waited for details of U.S. reciprocal tariffs, but tin extended a rally to its highest in nearly three years on supply fears.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.2% at $9,711 a metric ton by 0953 GMT after slipping to its weakest in three weeks at $9,668.50.
“Investors are confused, they’re uncertain about the outlook. It’s mostly tariff-related, although there’s also global conflict, currency debasement and confusion around central bank policy,” said Tom Price, head of commodities strategy at Panmure Liberum.
“Aluminium gives you an insight into what copper might do. It has gone through the first phase of factoring in the cost of tariffs and now it’s going into the second phase, where demand is deteriorating,” Price said.
Source – Business Recorder
Source – MSN