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Copper futures up 5%

U.S. copper futures rallied nearly 5% on Wednesday, rising more than other global benchmarks, after President Trump said imports of the metal would be subject to a 25% tariff; the front-month May Comex contract (HG1:COM) currently +4.6% at $4.76/lb.

Trump’s comments in last night’s speech to Congress sparked a surge in Comex copper prices in Asian hours, as traders reacted to the possibility that copper tariffs could be larger than expected.

“A 25% tariff was clearly not what the market was expecting before those comments, and now traders are scrambling to price in the correct level, whatever that might end up being,” Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen said. “Whatever the final tariff is, the disruption to global trade flows is very real.”

Source – Seeking Alpha

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    Gold holds with little change

    Spot gold fell 0.1% to $3,030.13 an ounce, as of 09:35 a.m. ET

    “There are concerns that tariffs could spark inflation, and there’s a consensus that despite rising prices from U.S. tariffs, the Federal Reserve might start easing policy around mid-year,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.

    “I expect gold to trade roughly where it is now, give or take about $25,” Melek said.

    Spot silver dropped 1.2% to $33.61 an ounce, platinum lost 1.6% to $980.90 and palladium fell 0.8% to $959.20

    Source – Reuters

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    U.S. Copper tariffs cause relocation of metal

    U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariff on copper imports has generated a mass relocation of physical metal, swamping the U.S. market and draining the rest of the world.

    The physical response has been so powerful that it has caused the futures arbitrage between the CME contract and the London Metal Exchange (LME) price to collapse.

    CME copper inventory has risen by 81% since the start of the year and is now at an eight-year high of 168,563 short tons (152,919 metric tons).

    LME copper inventory has slumped to a one-year low of 179,375 tons, with 40% of what remains awaiting physical load-out.

    China’s imports of refined copper fell 5% on a year-over-year basis and 20% on a quarter-over-quarter basis in the January-March period as metal was diverted to the U.S.

    Source – Reuters

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    Silver breaks above $33.45

    After briefly dipping to $32.66 last week, silver has regained the $33.45 pivot, which now serves as near-term support. The level is seen as a trigger for momentum trades, and a sustained move above it could drive a retest of the recent high at $34.24. A breakout above that zone would open the path toward resistance between $34.87 and $35.40. Conversely, a failure to hold $33.45 could expose the downside to the $32.53–$31.81 retracement range.

    Source – FX Empire

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    Gold update, up 1.6%

    Gold prices rebounded on Thursday as investors bought bullion following a sharp decline in the previous session, while the focus remains on U.S.-China trade tensions.

    Spot gold was up 1.6% at $3,338.79 an ounce, as of 1140 GMT. Bullion fell as much as 3% on Wednesday in its worst daily performance since late November.

    “Gold’s pullback earlier has cleared some of the froth from its latest surge. That, in turn, attracted some buy-the-dip action amid still-persistent global trade war fears,” said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group.

    “Given the still-evident tailwinds for this precious metal, gold bugs could ultimately conquer the $3,500 level with conviction.”

    Spot silver fell 0.3% to $33.44 an ounce, platinum was steady at $972.15 and palladium was down 0.2% at $942.28.

    Source – Reuters

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    10lbs gold nugget up for auction

    In 1979, a couple using a metal detector in the Kalgoorlie Goldfields of Western Australia located a massive gold nugget. Known today as the “Golden Beauty,” the nugget weighs in at nearly 10 pounds.

    It is currently on the auction block. According to Heritage Auctions, the opening bid was $400,000.

    At the current spot price, the gold is worth around $481,800.

    Gold always has been enormously popular, in part because of its pure value and beauty, but also because it is exceedingly rare,” Heritage Auctions vice president of nature and science Craig Kissick said.

    Source – Money Metals