BENGALURU- Prices of most base metals in Shanghai dropped on Wednesday as investors feared the potential impact of a trade war between the United States and China, the top metals consumer, after both economies imposed tit-for-tat tariffs.
The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 0.1 percent at 77,060 yuan ($10,614.03) a metric ton.
Copper prices are trending lower amid concerns over the potential risk of a global economic slowdown from US trade tariffs and the retaliatory measures from the targeted trading partners of the US said Kelvin Wong, OANDA’s senior market analyst, Asia Pacific.
US President Donald Trump’s new 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, along with a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20 percent.
China on Tuesday swiftly retaliated against the tariffs, moving the world’s top two economies a step closer towards an all-out trade war.
The National People’s Congress (NPC) begins on March 5 and will close in the afternoon of March 11, the market is keen to see if the country reveals further stimulus measures, given the ongoing tariff war and concerns about slowing demand.
