SHANGHA- Base metal prices in China stabilized on Tuesday after the previous day’s selloff, as market participants adopted a wait-and-see stance amid the escalating global trade war, which fuelled recession fears.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) dropped 1.4 percent to 73,290 yuan ($10,000.82) per metric ton, hovering at a three-month low since January 3. It had fallen 7 percent when the market opened in Asia on Monday.
The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.8 percent to $8,803 per metric ton, rebounding from its lowest at $8,105 since November 2023 that it hit on Monday.
China’s commerce ministry stated it will never accept the “blackmail nature” of the United States on Tuesday, following President Trump’s threat on Monday to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on China if Beijing does not withdraw its retaliatory tariffs.
Top metals consumer China hit back last Friday with additional 34 percent tariffs on all US goods from April 10, after U.S President Donald Trump imposed a 34 percent tariff on most Chinese goods as part of his sweeping reciprocal tariff program.
“Prices appear to have steadied today after yesterday’s sharp decline, with people adopting a wait-and-see approach as retaliatory tariffs continue to evolve,” a base metals trader said.
SHFE aluminum gained 0.7 percent to 19,675 yuan a ton, zinc gained 0.1 percent to 22,280 yuan, lead SPBcv1 fell 0.8 percent to 16,585 yuan, while nickel was up 0.1 percent to 119,460 yuan, tin fell 1.3 percent to 267,410 yuan.
