The temporary truce on tariffs between China and the United States could be over, injecting a new round of uncertainty into the global financial markets and suspending hopes that a resolution to the countries’ trade impasse was likely. US President Donald Trump has threatened to raise the tariff on $200 billion-worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% by Friday May 10.
Gay Huey Evans will be the first female chairperson of the London Metal Exchange, replacing Brian Bender when he retires at end of the year, Fastmarkets understands.
Copper premiums in Shanghai have become less volatile due to there being less financing demand in the market after one of China’s largest copper importers, Tewoo Group, began experiencing liquidity troubles in late March. Tewoo was a hot topic of discussion among delegates attending LME Asia Week in Hong Kong this week.
Hernic Ferrochrome expects to scale down its smelting operations between June 1 and August 31, 2019, amid challenging market conditions, the company announced.
The second quarter has begun on a soft note in the US copper market, with market participants doubtful that premiums will see upward pressure over the summer. Fastmarkets AMM assessed the US copper cathode premium at 7-7.75 cents per lb delivered to the Midwest on Tuesday May 7.
