LONDON: Copper prices retreated on Friday as focus switched to President Donald Trump’s July 9 deadline when sweeping tariffs take effect on countries that have not yet secured trade agreements.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.8% at $9,875 a metric ton at 1017 GMT, after having hit a three-month high at $10,020.5 a ton earlier this week.
Volumes are subdued and likely to remain so due to the July 4 Independence Day holiday in the United States, traders said.
Trump said his administration will begin sending letters later on Friday to 10 to 12 countries informing them of the tariff rate their products will face in the United States.
Caution due to several large trading partners, including the European Union, Japan and India, still trying to negotiate a deal with the U.S. had triggered profit-taking on long positions or bets on higher prices, traders said.
On the technical front, first support for copper comes in at the 21-day moving average around $9,760.
Copper prices edge up as tariff uncertainty drags on
Elsewhere, worries about aluminium supplies on the LME created by large holdings of warrants and nearby contracts due to slowing outflows and deliveries to warehouses approved by the London exchange.
Aluminium stocks in LME warehouses have climbed more than 20,000 tons to 356,975 tons since June 25. Cancelled warrants or metal earmarked for delivery at 2% indicate only small amounts are due to be delivered out.
Overall, a softer dollar was providing some support for industrial metals on Friday. But traders said growing prospects of the Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady after Thursday’s strong jobs report could boost the U.S. currency and weigh on metals demand.
Aluminium was down 0.4% at $2,595 a ton, zinc fell 0.5% to $2,736, lead eased 0.2% to $2,059, tin retreated 0.4% to $33,710 and nickel slipped 0.5% to $15,370.
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