Rising risk aversion sentiment weighed on copper prices, causing them to fall last Friday evening [SMM Morning Comment on Copper]

SMM News on July 14: On Friday evening, LME copper opened at $9,618/mt, touching a low of $9,610/mt shortly after the opening. It then fluctuated upward throughout the session, reaching a high of $9,694/mt near the close, and finally closed at $9,663/mt, down 0.2%. Trading volume reached 20,000 lots, and open interest stood at 281,000 lots. On the same evening, the most-traded SHFE copper 2508 contract opened at and touched a low of 78,040 yuan/mt, then rose to a high of 78,460 yuan/mt during the session. It dropped back slightly near the close and finally closed at 78,320 yuan/mt, down 0.27%. Trading volume reached 28,000 lots, and open interest stood at 175,000 lots. On the macro side, Trump threatened on Saturday to impose a 30% tariff on goods imported from Mexico and the EU starting August 1, independent of tariffs on all industries. A series of letters indicated that Trump had returned to the aggressive trade stance he adopted in April. Meanwhile, Fed officials stated that the latest tariff threats might delay interest rate cuts, leading to a rise in market risk aversion and putting pressure on copper prices. On the fundamental side, the supply side showed a relatively loose situation. As the delivery date approached, suppliers had relatively abundant supplies, coupled with the opening of the import window, resulting in an overall relatively loose supply. Demand side, copper prices stopped falling and rebounded on Thursday, stimulating many downstream buyers to replenish their stocks at low prices. However, by Friday, the purchasing sentiment had significantly weakened. In terms of prices, Trump currently shows no signs of slowing down the trade war, and copper tariffs are high and implemented quickly, highlighting the pressure on copper prices. It is expected that copper prices will continue to decline today.