Gold prices dipped on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at lower tariffs for China and said he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Spot gold fell 2.1% to $3,310.29 an ounce, as of 0811 GMT, after hitting a record high of $3,500.05 in the previous session.
Spot silver rose 1% to $32.85 an ounce.
Platinum was up 0.6% at $964.35 and palladium was steady at $935.48.
Source – Reuters
Platinum demand outpaced supply by 995,000 ounces last year. That was 46 percent higher than forecast.
Meanwhile, platinum jewelry sales grew by 8 percent in 2024, and investment demand took off, rising by 77 percent.
The WPIC forecasts that jewelry demand will reach 2 million ounces this year, an increase of 2 percent year-on-year.
Source – Money Metals
London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month copper slumped to a 17-month low of $8,105 per metric ton on April 7 after China responded to U.S. tariffs in kind.
Citi, which now expects copper to hit $8,000 per ton over the next three months, warns that commodity markets are still not pricing the full potential impact on demand.
Copper as a macro play cannot but reflect the broader market concerns about the negative impact of an escalating trade war between the United States and China on the world economy.
But at a micro level, the specific threat of U.S. tariffs on the metal is pulling normal trade patterns out of shape and causing both LME and Shanghai exchange inventories to fall.
Source – Reuters
The $1.4 billion bid made by the Chinese defence and industrial giant in June stalled after Congo state miner Gecamines submitted its own unsolicited bid for the Chemaf assets, deepening a standoff that has been complicated by U.S. officials lobbying against China’s grip on the mineral-rich central African Copperbelt.
Norinco has now proposed that the Democratic Republic of the Congo increase its interest in Chemaf’s Mutoshi and Etoile mines to as much as 15% from 5% currently – at no additional cost – subject to negotiations, said the sources, who asked to remain anonymous.
Source – Reuters
Norinco – also known as China North Industries Corporation. Within China it is known as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said nothing would stop President Donald Trump’s expanded 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum until U.S. domestic production is strengthened, and that Trump will add copper to his trade protections.
“We can’t be in a war and rely on steel and aluminum from some other country. I mean, it’s just not reasonable,” Lutnick said. “So the president wants steel and aluminum in America, and let me be clear, nothing is going to stop that until we’ve got a big, strong domestic steel and aluminum capability. And by the way, he’s going to add copper to that mix too.”
Source – Reuters
“The latest run-up in prices—in gold to an 11-week high near last year’s record, and silver towards resistance around USD 31—was triggered by Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on some of its major trading partners, including Canada, Mexico, Europe, and China.”
“Silver continues to recover from the deep end-of-year correction that saw the white metal tumble 17% from a 12-year high at $34.87 to a December low at $28.74. Besides renewed demand from wrong-footed short sellers in the futures market at the start of the year, prices have also been supported by… the fundamental outlook for a fifth consecutive annual supply deficit.”
Source – Seeking Alpha
