This week, copper prices continued to retreat from a 9-month high. Speculation that supply disruptions fueled by US trade tariffs may be resolved sooner than initially thought pushed the metal lower. This forecast came from experts polled by Bloomberg.
In the coming weeks, the White House plans to impose trade duties on imported copper supplies, sending its prices down for a third day in a row on Friday. The market had previously expected months to pass before such measures would be implemented. The agency noted that traders do not have much time left to transport raw materials to US warehouses.
As the matter stands, China's looming production cuts are likely to limit copper's decline. Experts from Guoyuan Futures Co. attributed the worsening situation in the sector to falling metal processing fees. Meanwhile, state-owned Jiangxi Copper Co. announced its target to produce 2.37 million tons of copper in 2025.