عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Most Base Metals Fall as US Recession Jitters Dampen Sentiment

Specialist Dilip Patel works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing US economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Dilip Patel works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing US economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
TT
TT

Most Base Metals Fall as US Recession Jitters Dampen Sentiment

Specialist Dilip Patel works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing US economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Dilip Patel works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing US economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Prices of most industrial metals dropped on Tuesday, weighed down by bleak demand outlook following US data that sparked fears of a possible recession in the world's biggest economy.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.3% at $8,858.50 per metric ton, as of 0303 GMT. The contract was hovering near a 4-1/2-month low of $8,714 hit in the previous session, Reuters said.
The most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) declined 2.5% to 71,260 yuan ($9,964.90) a ton. The contract tumbled as much as 3.3% earlier in the session to 70,630 yuan, its lowest since March 13.
US data showed job growth fell short of expectations and the unemployment rate rose, pointing to possible weakness in the labor market and greater vulnerability to recession.
On the COMEX, fund managers dropped their bullish bets for copper, with net long positioning down to 9,449 contracts on July 30, an 87% drop from May 21, latest exchange data showed.
LME copper has shed 20% since its record high of $11,104.50 a ton hit on May 20.
Physical demand, however, improved as prices fell.
The premium to import copper into China rose to $48 a ton on Monday, the highest since March 18. Copper stocks in SHFE warehouses eased to 295,141 tons, the lowest since May 17, although inventories outside of China remained elevated.
LME aluminium eased 0.1% to $2,248.50 a ton, nickel edged down 0.4% at $16,205, zinc dipped 0.2% to $2,629, while tin advanced 0.3% to $29,570 and lead rebounded 0.7% to $1,944.50 after tumbling 4.6% in the previous session.
SHFE aluminium fell 0.7% to 18,855 yuan a ton, nickel dropped 1.1% to 128,910 yuan, zinc declined 1.4% to 22,225 yuan, lead shed 3% to 17,345 yuan and tin decreased 1.6% to 243,880 yuan.
SHFE lead hit its lowest since May 7 of 17,075 yuan, tracking losses in the previous session on the LME.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

World Food Prices Dip in October, but Remain Higher Than a Year Ago

A worker carries loaves of bread for sale at a bakery in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt November 4, 2026. (Reuters)
A worker carries loaves of bread for sale at a bakery in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt November 4, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

World Food Prices Dip in October, but Remain Higher Than a Year Ago

A worker carries loaves of bread for sale at a bakery in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt November 4, 2026. (Reuters)
A worker carries loaves of bread for sale at a bakery in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt November 4, 2026. (Reuters)

World food prices edged lower in October as weaker import demand contributed to monthly declines in cereal, dairy and meat prices, but were still nearly 6% higher than a year earlier, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a basket of food commodities, ‌averaged 133.9 points ‌in October, down from a revised ‌135.6 ⁠in September.

The index ⁠was 5.9% higher than a year earlier, but remained 16.4% below its March 2022 peak.

FAO's cereal price index fell 4.5% from September and was 12.6% lower than a year ago, as wheat and maize quotations declined. Wheat prices eased on weak import demand ⁠and improved production prospects, especially in Argentina.

"Expectations of ‌easing constraints on Black ‌Sea export flows added to the downward pressure on prices, ‌although continued disruptions to Black Sea logistics limited the decline," ‌FAO said in a statement.

Maize prices also eased after reaching a three-year high in September, pressured by the US harvest, expectations of ample supplies in South America and renewed ‌prospects of easing tensions in the Black Sea region.

Vegetable oil prices edged up 0.3%, ⁠as ⁠higher soybean and sunflower oil prices more than offset a fall in rapeseed oil prices.

Sugar prices rose 6.6%, their fourth straight monthly increase, to the highest level since December 2024, after rainfall disrupted harvesting in Brazil. They were now 28.8% above a year ago.

The dairy index fell 1.1%, as lower butter and cheese prices linked to ample supplies and subdued demand outweighed gains in milk powder.

The meat index declined 1.2%, while still slightly above its year-earlier level, as ovine and bovine meat prices fell.

Business

Copper Falls, Set for Worst Week Since March on AI Rout

Copper at the Aurubis copper smelting and refining plant in Hamburg, Germany. (Reuters)
Copper at the Aurubis copper smelting and refining plant in Hamburg, Germany. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Copper Falls, Set for Worst Week Since March on AI Rout

Copper at the Aurubis copper smelting and refining plant in Hamburg, Germany. (Reuters)
Copper at the Aurubis copper smelting and refining plant in Hamburg, Germany. (Reuters)

Copper dropped on Friday and was set for its biggest weekly drop in London since March, as a rout in technology stocks battered markets.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 1.3% at $13,663 a metric ton by 0700 GMT. That placed it on track to fall 3.44% in the week, Reuters said.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.08% to 106,830 yuan ($16,018.17) a ton.

The weakness reflects worries over AI investment, ‌with copper increasingly ‌influenced by "sentiment towards data center expansion," said ‌Craig ⁠Lang, principal analyst ⁠at CRU.

Technology shares were battered after Democratic wins in the US midterms fueled concerns that new regulatory oversight could cap the AI buildout.

On the other hand, supply constraints cushioned copper's decline.

"I would be cautious about calling this a sustained correction, given ongoing mine supply challenges and exceptionally tight ⁠metal availability outside the US," Lang said.

Copper stocks ‌in SHFE-monitored warehouses <CU-STX-SGH> fell by ‌over 24% this week to just 33,848 tons — the lowest ‌in almost three years. The closely watched Yangshan copper ‌premium <SMM-CUYP-CN>, a gauge of appetite for imports into key consumer China, increased to $210 a ton on Thursday, matching its record high.

Smelters in the country are facing a double squeeze of negative treatment ‌charges and lower sulfuric acid prices.

Meanwhile, warehouse inventories outside the US have been drawn ⁠down as ⁠material was pulled into the country ahead of a potential tariff on imports of refined copper.

"These physical constraints should provide some support against weaker investor sentiment," Lang said.

Among LME metals, aluminium lost 0.54%, zinc lost 1.42%, lead lost 0.45%, nickel dipped 0.23% and tin gained 0.83%.

On the SHFE, aluminium nudged down only 0.04%, zinc lost 1.35%, lead was little changed, down only 0.03%, nickel rose 2.14% and tin dropped 3.45%.

SHFE inventories were down across the board this week, led by sharp drops in aluminium <AL-STX-SGH> and lead <PB-STX-SGH>.

Business

Emerging Economies Set to Match Advanced Nations’ Renewable Capacity Additions, IEA Says

Workers walk at Kalyon Karapinar solar power plant in Karapinar, Konya province, Türkiye, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP)
Workers walk at Kalyon Karapinar solar power plant in Karapinar, Konya province, Türkiye, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP)
TT
TT

Emerging Economies Set to Match Advanced Nations’ Renewable Capacity Additions, IEA Says

Workers walk at Kalyon Karapinar solar power plant in Karapinar, Konya province, Türkiye, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP)
Workers walk at Kalyon Karapinar solar power plant in Karapinar, Konya province, Türkiye, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP)

Emerging ‌and developing economies outside China are expected to add as much new renewable energy capacity as advanced economies for the first time over the next five years, driven by the current energy crisis, the International Energy Agency said on Friday.

Gas and oil prices have soared this year as the US-Iran war disrupts traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas trade.

Global renewable energy ‌capacity is forecast ‌to increase by almost 4,800 gigawatts ‌between ⁠2026 and 2031, ⁠the IEA said in its annual outlook.

Emerging and developing economies are expected to add about 1,100 GW, roughly the same as advanced economies, with China adding around 2,550 GW, the agency said.

Capacity growth in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East is ⁠expected to triple over the period, ‌led mainly by solar installations, ‌the IEA said.

China will remain the biggest contributor to ‌global renewable energy growth, although its share is ‌forecast to fall to 53% by 2031 from 60% in 2025.

India is emerging as the world's second-fastest deployer of renewables and is expected to more than double its contribution ‌to global growth by 2031 to nearly 8.5%.

Grid connection delays remain ⁠a major ⁠challenge, with projects awaiting connections worldwide rising 60% over the past year, equivalent to four times the wind and solar capacity connected to grids during the same period.

Grid constraints are expected to slow growth in advanced economies, with annual additions in Europe through 2031 forecast to remain broadly in line with 2025 levels.

Renewable energy is expected to meet 6% of global transport energy demand by 2031, while higher fuel-blending mandates prompted the IEA to raise its biofuels forecast by 40% from last year's report.