Copper, Iron Ore Fall After China Politburo Readout Underwhelms

(Bloomberg) — Copper edged lower along with iron ore, after a policy readout from a top Chinese leadership meeting underwhelmed investors.

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China vowed to implement forceful macroeconomic policies to shore up the biggest metal-consuming economy at its latest Politburo meeting, including a more proactive fiscal agenda and a moderately loose monetary policy, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Still, the readout didn’t provide details of any large-scale stimulus measures, causing prices to reverse earlier small gains made in Asia on Wednesday.

The global copper market has been in turmoil in recent weeks, after President Donald Trump said he’d impose a higher-than-expected levy as he aims to revive domestic mining and refining. The administration is due to implement a 50% tariff on imports from Friday, but there are few details beyond the headline rate.

Chile, by far the biggest shipper of copper to the US, said it will push for an exemption when trade talks begin in Washington on Monday. However, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that eventual duties would be applied globally, without any exemptions for particular countries.

The Aug. 1 deadline has signaled the endgame for a profitable trade to ship copper to the US, which drained supplies elsewhere. Tightness has eased recently, with spreads on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange switching to a market structure known as contango, pointing to ample immediate supplies.

Investors were also monitoring the progress of trade talks between the US and China, as Trump prepares to decide whether to extend the current tariff truce. A renewal of the agreement, set to expire in two weeks, would signal a further step toward stabilizing relations between the world’s two largest economies.

Copper dipped 0.2% to $9,782 a ton on the London Metal Exchange as of 7:56 a.m. local time. Iron ore dropped 0.9% to $101.80 a ton in Singapore, after rising as much as 1.4% earlier. Yuan-priced contracts in Dalian fell, along with steel futures in Shanghai.

–With assistance from Martin Ritchie and Yihui Xie.

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