Gold prices marginally up; Comex copper soars on Trump’s 50% tariffs

Gold prices rose marginally Thursday and remained largely within a recently established trading range, while U.S. copper prices extended their rally after President Donald Trump confirmed his plans to tariff the red metal.

At 08:35 ET (12:35 GMT), spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,320.54 an ounce, while gold futures for September rose 0.3% to $3,329.31/oz.

Gold stocks to tight trading range

Gold has largely suck to a trading range of between $3,300 and $3,450/oz of late, as the yellow metal grapples with pressure from the dollar and limited haven demand.

Bullion prices took some support from a softer dollar on Thursday, as the greenback fell after the minutes of the Fed’s June meeting showed a majority of policymakers still supported cutting interest rates this year.

But Fed members were split over the timing of the cuts, as a bulk of policymakers expressed concerns over the inflationary impact of Trump’s trade tariffs.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has kept up this warning, and recently said that uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs was the only factor keeping the Fed from cutting rates.

Gold was also pressured by easing safe haven demand, amid cooling military tensions in the Middle East through the second half of June. Among precious metals, silver and platinum vastly outpaced the yellow metal over the past two months.

Platinum futures rose 2.3% to $1,417.60/oz, while silver futures rose 0.9% to $36.950/oz, with both metals remaining in sight of recent multi-year peaks.

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Copper volatile as Trump says 50% tariffs coming in August

U.S. copper futures rose 2.1% to $5.6018 a pound, remaining close to a record high hit earlier this week. Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.8% to $9,714.70 a ton, recovering some lost ground.

Trump said on Wednesday evening that he will impose 50% tariffs on all U.S. copper imports, effective from August 1. The levies stand to severely crimp domestic copper supplies, especially given that the U.S. imports at least half of its copper requirements.

Trump said the levies are aimed at shoring up domestic copper production, although it remains to be seen whether local production can pick up sufficiently to meet demand.

"This is likely to be positive for Comex copper prices, at least for now. More buying is likely before tariffs come into effect," said analysts at ING, in a note. "However, a 50% tariff on imports also risks demand destruction. Copper in the U.S. is now up more than 40% this year, with prices continuing to benefit from the front-running of tariffs."

On the flip side, "this will be bearish for LME prices, with the wave of copper rushing to the U.S. likely to stop once the tariffs are implemented. At that point, U.S. buyers are likely to start working through their inventories. There is now more copper stored in Comex warehouses than there is in the LME and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) warehouses combined."

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