On Monday, April 7, base metals on the London Metal Exchange (LME) declined, with copper prices hitting their lowest level in over 16 months due to concerns over reduced demand and the increasing likelihood of an economic recession.
At 17:00 London time (00:00 Beijing time on April 8), LME three-month copper futures fell by $48, or 0.55%, to $8,732 per mt, earlier touching $8,105, the lowest since November 2023.
Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, stated, "LME prices have already reflected a lot of bad news on the economic front... Some buyers have started to emerge at key levels, so it seems there has been some technical pullback in the market."
Citigroup revised its 0-3 month forecasts for copper and aluminum prices down to $8,000 and $2,200, respectively, noting, "It is entirely possible to reach these targets within the next week, and if not, more likely within the next three months."
Bank of America, referencing the 2018/19 trade disputes, predicted that copper prices could fall below $8,000 by summer.
In other metals, LME three-month aluminum futures fell by $8, or 0.34%, to $2,370.5 per mt.
Edward Meir, a consultant at Marex, suggested that base metals may have already peaked for 2025 and seem to have been adversely affected by the trade disputes.
