Copper in London slipped on Friday after hitting $US10,000 a tonne for the first time in five months after Donald Trump ordered the US commerce department to review the case for imposing a 25 per cent tariff on the precious metal.
Copper was trading at $US9936.5, down 0.5 per cent, near 3pm AEDT on Friday, as the US dollar rose. Copper futures in New York pushed higher.
Trump last month ordered his Commerce Department to investigate the nation’s imports of copper as a likely precursor to imposing duties. Since then, US prices have spiked and traders have rushed to send metal to America ahead of any tariffs, in turn reducing availability in the rest of the world.
Trump has already slapped a 25 per cent tariff on imports of steel and aluminium. With Bloomberg
3 hrs ago – 1.47PM Iron ore slips below $US100
Nicola Blackburn
Iron ore slipped below the key $US100 a tonne level for the first time in 10 days after US President Donald Trump invoked emergency powers to boost the US’ ability to produce critical minerals, a move that traders fear could weaken demand for the steel-making commodity.
Iron ore futures in Singapore slipped 0.5 per cent, trading above $US99 a tonne near 1.45pm. That was after the White House said it would seek financing, loans and other investment support to domestically process critical minerals and rare earth elements.
Its actions come as a direct response to long-held concerns among the US and allies that China overwhelmingly controls the processing of some of the most important critical minerals. With Bloomberg
