LONDON: Copper prices fell in London on Thursday under pressure from a stronger dollar, but remained in a tight range amid lower trading volumes ahead of a four-day Easter break, and no sign of de-escalation in the trade war between the US and China.
The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.8% at $9,132 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading. The growth-dependent metal has lost 5% so far this month as an escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies has led to them imposing triple-digit import tariffs on each other, threatening global growth and demand for industrial metals. “Tariffs could have peaked, but de-escalation is not in sight yet,” analysts at Citi said in a research note.
China’s commerce ministry on Thursday urged the US to stop putting “extreme pressure” on Beijing and demanded respect in any trade talks, but both sides remain deadlocked on who should start those talks. China is the world’s top metals consumer.
Citi expects global growth to soften to 2.1% this year, down from just under 3% last year, with growth in 2026 projected to rebound only slightly to 2.3%, as the effects of broad US tariffs will continue to be revealed. Since the US announced its tariffs in early April, copper has fallen below all its major moving averages, which are now at resistance levels. The closest one to current prices is the 100-day moving average at $9,284.
A bounce in the US dollar added further pressure on the metals market on Thursday, making dollar-priced commodities more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
LME aluminium fell 0.7% to $2,366 a ton in official activity. Already subject to a 25% US import tariff, it is down 7% so far this year. The US would still face a shortfall of 3.6 million tons of aluminium even if all the idle smelting capacity in the country were to restart, major producer Alcoa said on Wednesday.
It expects US tariffs on aluminium imports from Canada to cost the company $90 million this quarter. LME zinc slipped 0.8% to $2,561 a ton, lead gained 0.1% to $1,910, tin lost 0.5% to $30,650 and nickel fell 0.5% to $15,610. The LME market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter break.
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