SHANGHAI- Copper prices in London edged up on Wednesday, but gains were capped as cautious investors awaited details of reciprocal tariffs from US President Donald Trump scheduled later in the day.
The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.2 percent to $9,716 per metric ton.
Trump said on Sunday his reciprocal tariffs will apply to all nations.
“Currently, we sense a risk-off sentiment due to the looming uncertainties ahead of Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement later today,” a base metals trader said.
The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI released on Tuesday climbed to 51.2 in March, from 50.8 in February, reflecting growth in manufacturing despite potential threats from the escalating US trade war.
Meanwhile, tin on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was the outperformer, rising 2.5 percent to 293,710 yuan ($40,404.17), due to fears of supply disruptions from an earthquake in tin-rich Myanmar last Friday.
The earthquake has affected market expectations for the resumption of tin mining in Myanmar, and if the mining area collapsed due to the earthquake, it’s likely there won’t be a resumption in Wa State this year, Chaos Research said in a note.
Previously, Myanmar’s Wa State considered allowing mining to resume in the tin-rich region.
