Base Metals Prices

Base metal prices decreased 7.2% month on month in April, following March’s 3.2% rise.

Prices for the vast majority of base metals tracked by our panel plummeted in April as the trade war between the U.S. and China reached new heights. The U.S. raised tariffs on China in early April, and China retaliated swiftly; back-and-forth retaliation brought tariffs into triple-digit territory. This caused sharp price declines in most base metals as greater trade barriers should dent economic momentum across the globe and especially in top metal consumer China, hampering industrial demand. Looking at the metals that escaped the general trend, U.S. steel prices stabilized as markets finished adjusting to tariffs on the metal in March, European steel prices rose due to tighter import quotas and healthier Euro area industrial activity, and cobalt prices rose further due to the DRC’s export ban.