Gold bullion edged 0.2% lower

“We have to bring production back to our country,” he said.

“In the US, manufacturers will have little choice but to pass on higher costs from imports to consumers until the downstream industry (refining/smelting) has undergone suitable investment,” said Natalie Scott-Gray, senior metals analyst at StoneX.

“If Trump imposes tariffs, it will have an adverse impact particularly on aluminum because Europe is already on path to impose a carbon tax and the UK might do it too,” said B.K. Bhatia, additional secretary general at the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries.

Source – Mining.com

Unusually large shipments of copper to the United States are unlikely to abate as long as the threat of tariffs hangs over the market and price premiums for the metal on U.S.-based COMEX make deals profitable for traders and producers, analysts said.

COMEX copper hit a record high at $11,633 a metric ton on March 26, creating a premium of more than $1,570 a ton against the benchmark contract on the London Metal Exchange.

“We expect 250,000-300,000 tons of extra copper will be shipped to the U.S. over March-May because of the spread and amid the uncertainties regarding the tariff,” said Sharon Ding, head of China basic materials at UBS Investment Research.

“It’s possible we’ll see more atypical cargos in the second half of May,” Kpler analyst Ben Ayre said. “While the COMEX price continues to run at a premium to the LME there’s a strong incentive to land refined copper in the United States.”

Source – Reuters