Metals Mostly Fell, Copper Futures Declined, Dragged Down by US Tariffs and Uncertainty [LME Closing on March 27]

On Thursday, March 27, copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) pulled back after the US announced a 25% tariff on imported vehicles, which could potentially curb metal demand. At 17:00 London time (01:00 Beijing time on March 28), three-month copper closed down $80.5, or 0.81%, at $9,846.5 per mt, after hitting a near 10-month high in the previous session. Global stock markets fell, with auto stocks particularly hard hit, following the US announcement of auto tariffs late Wednesday. WisdomTree commodity strategist Nitesh Shah said, "This does seem likely to hurt demand for cars and, in turn, all the metals used in cars. So, today's copper prices and other base metal prices have been hurt." Expectations of US tariffs on copper led investors to bid up copper prices, especially on the US Comex exchange. Year-to-date, LME copper has risen 12%, while Comex copper prices have surged 30%. US Comex copper fell 2.4% to $5.12 per pound on Wednesday after hitting a record high, with the premium of Comex copper over LME copper pulling back to $1,437 per mt, or nearly 15%. ANZ commodity strategist Soni Kumari said, "Once the tariff issue becomes clear, this will fade as US demand weakens, putting pressure on prices." Citi Research predicts that the US will impose a 25% import tariff on copper in Q2 this year, and the bank has lowered its three-month price forecast from $10,000 to $9,500 per mt. The weakening of the US dollar index helped mitigate the decline in copper prices, as a weaker dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper for buyers using other currencies. Tin was the best-performing metal on the LME, rising 0.57% to $35,270 per mt. The International Tin Association said on Thursday that about 16% of global tin ore supply is currently offline.