Copper prices rise as Chilean disruptions outweigh Trump’s threat of tariffs.

Gold prices moved little in Asian trade on Wednesday after pulling back from recent record highs, although safe haven demand remained high in the face of uncertainty over U.S. trade tariffs and slowing growth.
Copper prices, on the other hand, rose sharply as a major power outage in Chile- the world’s top copper producer- threatened to disrupt supplies. Threats from the United States were mostly ignored by this. President Donald Trump, that he will impose tariffs on imports of the red metal.
After soaring to record highs over the course of the previous month, gold was hit with some profit-taking, as haven demand was boosted by Trump’s threats to impose tariffs and growing concerns about a cooling U.S. economy. Metal prices also increased as a result of a weaker dollar and bets on the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Spot gold steadied at $2,916.06 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in April rose 0.4% to $2,929.74 an ounce by 00:21 ET (05:21 GMT). Spot prices hit a record high of $2,956.37 an ounce earlier this month, with markets now watching $3,000 an ounce as the next major milestone.
Copper prices rise as Chilean disruptions counter Trump’s threat of tariffs. Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.8% to $9,486.05 a ton, while March copper futures rose 0.9% to $4.7408 a pound.
After Chile experienced a widespread power outage that also affected the country’s enormous copper mines, expectations of supply disruptions boosted the red metal. Santiago declared a state of emergency, with the blackout attributed to a transmission failure in Chile’s north.
But swathes of Chile’s mining-rich north remained without power, which saw major mines, including Escondida, halt operations. A prolonged outage could heavily impact global copper supplies.
This notion helped markets largely look past Trump’s tariff threat. The U.S. President said he was considering tariffs on copper imports, after he earlier this month imposed 25% duties on steel and aluminum imports.
Trump stated that the tariffs would reduce China’s market dominance of the red metal and strengthen domestic copper production in the United States. Trump’s tariffs, if imposed, stand to potentially hurt demand for copper, given that the U.S. is a major consumer of copper.
Metals benefit from softer dollar amid US economic jitters
While weak economic data weighed on the greenback, a softer dollar helped broad metal prices rise on Wednesday. After February’s less-than-expected consumer confidence data raised concerns about the economy’s primary driver of private consumption, the dollar index fell to a level close to three months in the making. After some gains overnight, platinum futures fell 0.2% to $976.30 an ounce, while silver futures rose 1% to $32.158 an ounce. Focus is now on upcoming U.S. gross domestic product data for the fourth quarter, as well as PCE price index data, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. Both prints are due later in the week.