SHANGHAI: Prices of most base metals in London edged lower on Thursday as the temporary U.S.-China tariff truce prompted caution, with concerns about a potential global recession affecting metals demand.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.8% to $9,532 a metric ton on 0416 GMT.
On Wednesday, China paused some non-tariff measures taken in April against several U.S. entities - 17 on its unreliable entity list and 28 on its export control list, the commerce ministry said.
The two countries have agreed to reduce the tit-for-tat tariffs and implement a 90-day pause on actions, while Washington said it would cut the “de minimis” tariff for low-value shipments from China to 30%.
“The trade tariff conflict is moving in a positive direction, alleviating concerns about a global recession,” a trader said.
“However, trade negotiations are complex and lengthy, so we cannot confidently predict that things will return to normal after the 90-day truce. It’s possible that we might experience a situation similar to April, when heightened trade tensions negatively affected the outlook for metals.”
India to defend import curbs on copper in legal tussle with trade associations, sources say
Among other London metals, aluminium slid 0.3% to $2,520 a ton, zinc lost 0.3% to $2,755, lead fell 0.6% to $1,984 and nickel eased 0.6% to $15,775. Tin was flat at $32,815.
On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, most metals rose on growth in demand indicators, with China’s total social financing, a key measure of future industrial metals demand, up 8.7% in April, a 13-month high, driven by increased government bond issuance.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell 0.3% to 78,230 yuan ($10,851.76) per ton.
SHFE aluminium rose 0.8% to 20,315 yuan a ton, zinc gained 0.6% to 22,655 yuan, lead added 0.4% to 16,985 yuan, nickel price was flat at 124,450 yuan, and tin advanced 0.2% to 265,250 yuan.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.