Africa’s copper industry is poised for growth in 2025, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia – the continent’s largest producers – leading market expansion. Both countries are investing in new production mines, mineral exploration campaigns and the modernization of existing facilities to increase output.
Source – Sweet Crude Reports
Gold price have risen from Wednesday’s record close, propelled by fears that Trump’s tariffs will continue to hammer stocks and expectations that central banks will continue to hoard the precious metal. Gold futures for April delivery settled Wednesday at $3,139.90 a troy ounce, the latest notch in their 19% climb this year.
Source – The Wall Street Journal
“Investors around the world have started the year looking for protection against sticky and potentially rising inflation, fiscal debt worries and the unpredictability of Trump,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank.
“The market is sleepwalking into a squeeze right now,” Daniel Ghali, senior commodity strategist at TD Securities, said in an interview. “People are completely disregarding this risk.”
Source – Bloomberg / Yahoo Finance
Copper prices have been on a stellar run, boosted by President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs. But Wall Street sees headwinds for the metal, with two miners catching downgrades.
Freeport stock lost 3.2%, closing at $44.12, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4% and 1%, respectively.
Southern Copper shares fell 2.4% to $97.54.
As for demand, Citi analyst Tom Mulqueen noted in a Tuesday report that tariffs and policy changes will be a headwind in the second half of 2025.
“We also see sustained sluggish manufacturing activity and solar frontloading weighing on copper end-use consumption in the months ahead,” wrote Mulqueen.
Source – Barron’s
Gold prices eased on Thursday, pressured by a firmer U.S. dollar, as investor worries eased temporarily after President Donald Trump said he did not plan to oust Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Spot gold was down 0.6% at $3,335.77 per ounce, as of 0958 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.8% to $3,331.30.
“Yesterday, gold prices rose on the back of these rumours, which were unfounded. Since the rumours were quelled, prices have been falling,” said Nitesh Shah, commodities strategist at WisdomTree.
“I think if we come out of (the tariff deadline of) August 1 with much better trade deals, then that could be gold price-negative,” Shah said.
Spot silver fell 0.4% to $37.77 per ounce. Platinum lost 0.3% to $1,412.78 and palladium eased 0.6% to $1,223.03.
Source – Reuters
The U.S. is expected to implement a 50% tariff on copper imports at the end of the week, but what happens next is anyone’s guess as talk of an exemption for Chile, the biggest U.S. supplier of the metal, and a potential U.S. and European “metal alliance” heats up.
“There remains uncertainty over country-based exemptions and a general sense of tariff fatigue,” wrote Natalie Scott-Gray, senior metals demand analyst at StoneX, in a note Tuesday. The European Union, meanwhile, looks to get a break when it comes to U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper.
President Donald Trump’s announcement on July 8 of the coming tariff had led to a 13% spike in copper prices that day, to settle at $5.6855 a pound, a record-high finish at that time, based on data going back to 1968, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Scott-Gray said that when it comes to a potential country-based tariff exemption, Chile is “singled out,” not just because of Marcel’s comments and ongoing negotiations this week, but because the U.S. is reliant on Chile’s imports and the fact that the U.S. holds a trade surplus with Chile, she said.
Source – Market Watch
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N), opens new tab hopes U.S. President Donald Trump declares copper a critical mineral, a move that would unlock tax credits needed to boost American production of the red metal and offset global rivals, CEO Kathleen Quirk said on Monday.
“Having the incentives and clarity around those would be a big plus for the domestic copper industry,” said Quirk, who became CEO of Phoenix-based Freeport last year.
“People are understanding more what copper is used for and its importance in our economy. It’s just a matter of time before it’s classified as a critical mineral.”
“We’re not looking for handouts, but if the government is trying to incentivize domestic production, it’s important to recognize that the U.S. doesn’t have the same grades that we have internationally,” said Quirk.
Source – Reuters
