Copper prices range-bound as markets digest US tariff news, await clarity
Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange were range-bound on Friday, easing from an initial shock after U.S.' formal announcement of a 50% tariff on the metal from August 1, as the market awaited further details.
Three-month copper on the LME 
HG1! was down 0.09% at $9,691.5 per metric ton, as of 0701 GMT. The contract has declined 1.75% so far this week, and could be poised for a second weekly decline.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange HG1! edged 0.05% higher to 78,430 yuan ($10,937.87), but ended the week down 2.05%, after gains in the previous two weeks.
Copper prices have settled for now after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff announcement to boost domestic development of a key industry for defense, electronics, and automobiles.
However, "uncertainties and unknowns have remained, such as what copper products to be included (in the tariff structure), whether the 50% will be final or it could be adjusted, or whether there will be an extension of the implementation date," a Beijing-based metals analyst from a futures company said, requesting anonymity.
In the previous session, the COMEX premium over the LME was at $2,615 a ton, or 27% higher than the LME price, though down slightly from its peak.
Traders have shipped roughly about a year's worth of copper to the United States so far this year.
With so much copper already shipped to the U.S., a full 50% increase in the COMEX-LME premium may not be realistic, but a 40% rise is likely if the tariff is implemented as announced, the analyst said.
LME lead 
LEAD1! fell 0.86% to $2,026.5 a ton on Friday and tin 
FTIN1! dipped 0.76% to $33,305.
SHFE nickel 
NICKEL1! gained 1.23% to 121,390 yuan a ton, zinc 
ZNC1! was up 0.43% at 22,380 yuan, aluminium 
ALI1! rose 0.12% at 20,695 yuan, while lead LEAD1! fell 0.81% to 17,075 yuan, and tin FTIN1! eased 0.4% to 263,940 yuan.
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($1 = 7.1705 Chinese yuan)
