Nervous metals world scurries to adjust to Trump's trade war
The next steps may be more dramatic as the US and China engage in trade-war brinkmanship that may involve billions in tariffs on everything
Donald Trump's attempts to rebalance global trade have already sent the metals world into a tizzy. As countries respond to US tariffs and sanctions, the disarray is set to increase. Steel prices and aluminium premiums are shooting up in the US thanks to tariffs, threatening to wreak havoc on manufacturers. Everywhere else, metal prices are on a roller-coaster ride, with copper and zinc retreating on fears of slowing demand. If equity investors have stayed sanguine so far, metal investors are voting with their feet. The next steps may be more dramatic as the US and China engage in trade-war brinkmanship that may involve billions in tariffs on everything from cars to soybeans. For AKE International analyst Maximilian Hess, the standoff is part of an uptick in geo-economics, a mix of policy and economics, that will squeeze or aid certain metals companies and commodities. Trump tariffs have helped make US steel prices among the highest in the world. That swells the bottom line of domest...
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