Author: Victoria

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    Copper futures fell by 22%

    ByVictoria
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    US President Donald Trump went ahead with 50% tariffs on copper imports but exempted refined metals, which are the mainstay of international trading. The move triggered a record plunge for US prices after a period of fat profits for traders who hurried metal to America before the levies kicked in. A large premium for New York futures over London evaporated.

    “The blow-out in the CME-LME spread has been touted as one of the most profitable commodity trades in modern history,” Daniel Ghali of TD Securities Inc. wrote in a note. “In a single session, the White House’s proclamation on copper tariffs annihilated the spread and catalyzed CME copper’s largest intraday fall on record.”

    Copper futures on Comex in New York fell by 22% as traders recalibrated the value of metal in the US versus the rest of the world.

    Source – Bloomberg

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    Weaker dollar helping gold today

    ByVictoria
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    Gold price rose more than 1% on Thursday, moving away from the one-month low it touched in the previous session, as a pullback in the dollar and fresh U.S. tariff announcements lifted demand for the safe-haven asset.

    Spot gold was up 0.9% at $3,305.15 per ounce, as of 1140 GMT. The bullion had hit its lowest level since June 30 at $3,267.79 on Wednesday

    “We had some large downward moves yesterday in gold around the FOMC statement release and the tariff announcement. So a moderately weaker U.S. dollar is helping gold today,” said UBS commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

    Spot silver was down 1.6% at $36.53 per ounce, platinum fell 0.6% to $1,318.20 and palladium gained 0.9% to $1,215.94.

    Source – Reuters

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    50% tariff on copper, Brazil

    ByVictoria
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    President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the White House was “very busy” crafting its trade policy as the clock ticks down on his self-imposed August 1 deadline. At that point, America could fundamentally reshape the way it does business around the world.

    Trump signed executive actions on Wednesday imposing a 50% tariff on Brazil, a 50% tariff on certain copper products and suspending a tax perk for all countries that allowed cheap packages to fly into the US duty-free.

    Trump said the agreement, if completed, would include developing Pakistan’s oil reserves with a yet-to-be-named oil company.

    Source – CNN

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    Copper tariffs begin on August 1st, Chile “singled out”

    ByVictoria
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    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

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    African banks are getting into gold

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    Sub-Saharan African central banks that have added gold to their reserves in recent years could face price and liquidity crises if the value of the precious metal slides, BMI, a unit of Fitch Group, said on Wednesday.

    Ghana, Tanzania and Nigeria have been buying gold domestically to beef up their reserves, BMI said, a move accelerated by this year’s broader market volatility stoked by U.S. trade tariffs and other geopolitical risks.

    Policymakers in Kenya and Uganda are exploring a move into gold, Rwanda and Namibia have taken active steps towards adding the metal into their reserves.

    Governments could also struggle to convert their gold holdings into liquid assets like hard currencies, Gard said, pointing to India and Argentina when they faced acute balance of payments challenges in the 1990s and 2000s, respectively.

    Source – Reuters

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    Glencore’s Steelmaking Company production fell

    ByVictoria
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    Glencore’s steelmaking coal production in the first half soared following the integration of Elk Valley Resources, but copper and gold output fell.

    Elk’s contribution pushed first-half production expressed in copper equivalents up 5%. This is despite copper production falling 26% to 343,900 tons and gold output dropping 18% to 301,000 ounces.

    The FTSE 100-listed company said it was confident that it can deliver its full-year production guidance but tightened the ranges of some of its commodities to reflect its performance to date.

    Source – The Wall Street Journal

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    Spot gold and futures down, Silver down

    ByVictoria
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    Gold fell to a near three-week low on Monday as a U.S.-European Union trade accord lifted the dollar and risk sentiment, while investors awaited fresh cues on rate policy from this week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

    Spot gold fell 0.6% to $3,316.03 per ounce as of 11:36 a.m. ET (1536 GMT), after touching its lowest level since July 9, earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures were down 0.7% at $3,313.2 per ounce.

    “I think the more trade announcements we get, the more the dollar increases. These tariff deals are dollar friendly, lowering the allure of gold and driving the sell-off amid a risk-on sentiment,” said Marex analyst Edward Meir.

    Spot silver was down 0.1% at $38.12 per ounce and platinum fell 0.6% to $1,393.25, while palladium gained 2.1% to $1,245.52.

    Source – Reuters

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    Copper tariff in effect August 1

    ByVictoria
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    U.S. President Donald Trump sprang a double surprise on the copper market when he announced import tariffs of 50% effective next month.

    The August 1 start date signals the end of the race to ship physical metal to the United States to capture the tariff arbitrage.

    A lucky few with cargoes already afloat may yet cross the finishing line in time, but the physical tariff trade is rapidly unwinding.

    The LME benchmark spread is now in a comfortable contango of $66 per ton, compared with a backwardation of more than $300 per ton at the end of June.

    Source – Reuters

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    Silver price around $39, could go up

    ByVictoria
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    The Silver price (XAG/USD) attracts some sellers to around $39.00 during the early European session on Friday. Optimism surrounding the US trade deal allayed trade war concerns and dampened demand for safe-haven assets.

    The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Friday that US President Donald Trump is now pursuing dealmaking with China. Trump might shift from a strategy of pressure to negotiation, with the goal of securing an economic agreement that will increase US access to Chinese markets, particularly in business and technology. 

    Source – FX Street