U.S. President Donald Trump hasn’t yet imposed import tariffs on copper but the market is already pricing in the likelihood that the red metal will be next on the list after aluminium and steel.
The arbitrage between the CME and the London Metal Exchange (LME) contracts has blown wider in recent days, with the CME premium exceeding $1,000 per metric ton earlier this week.
Source – Reuters / Written by Andy Home / Opinion
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
“We could envision a situation where inflation migrates higher, while the economy slows down as the auto sector grinds to a sudden halt, for example,” said Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities. “Higher inflation and low rates, and the associated angst with the president’s imposition of tariffs, so uncertainty and risk are helping gold.”
“These tariffs create a strong tailwind for gold,” Bank of Montreal analysts wrote in a note. “Not only because of their inherent inflationary effects but also as the USA’s increasingly hawkish foreign policy may accelerate de-dollarisation plans.”
Source – Bloomberg
The U.S. will soon be flooded with massive amounts of copper shipments in a global rush to front-run President Trump’s probable tariffs, with 100K-150K metric tons of refined copper expected to arrive in U.S. ports in the coming weeks, which potentially would surpass the all-time record of 136,951 tons set in January 2022, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs analysts said they expect all forms of copper shipped to the U.S. to be hit with tariffs by year-end, keeping Comex prices at a hefty premium over other benchmarks, and noted that tariffs could cause China to refine 10K-20K tons/month less copper within the first three months – in a global market that Goldman already expected to face a 180K-ton deficit this year.
Source – Seeking Alpha
Follow up to Gold and Silver may be adopted as legal tender in Florida
Sponsored by Senator Rodriguez, Senate Bill 132 aims to redefine financial transactions, taxation, and payment of debts using these alternative forms of currency.
The legislation would also exempt transactions involving gold, silver, and related currencies from taxation. The move reflects a growing interest in alternative monetary systems as a hedge against economic uncertainties.
The proposed bill includes several significant measures:
・Definition of Legal Tender:
・Tax Exemptions:
・Government Acceptance:
・Prohibition on Compulsion:
・Regulatory Framework:
If passed, SB 132 would make Florida one of the few states to officially recognize gold, silver, and digital currencies as legal tender.
Source – Tampa Free Press
China’s unwrought copper imports declined by 7.2% year-on-year to 837,000 metric tons in the first two months of 2025, customs data on Friday showed, due to increased domestic smelting capacity that reduced the need for additional imports.
Deliverable copper stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange stood at 268,337 tons on February 28, more than double the 83,174 tons recorded on January 3.
Source – Reuters
“The market is really trying to understand how aggressive these potential tariffs could be and I think the problem is no one really knows the answer,” said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree.
Alastair Munro, senior base metals analyst at Marex, said copper found some support from contrarian buying from some Commodity Trade Advisor (CTA) investment funds, which are largely driven by computer programs.
Source – Reuters / Live Mint
