A concerted rise in base metal prices in anticipation of the Trump-Xi meeting

Base metal prices saw a slight rise, supported by signs that trade tensions between the United States and China may ease ahead of a meeting between the heads of the world’s two largest economies. The price of copper, seen as a key measure of the health of the global economy due to its widespread use in various industries, rose on support from President Donald Trump’s comments on Monday that he expects talks he will hold with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next week to lead to a trade deal. Despite this, the US president renewed his promise to raise customs duties if an agreement is not reached by the first of next November. Optimism in the base metal market Metal traders, producers and buyers expressed relative optimism at the annual London Metal Exchange Week conference, held in London last week. Many of the largest global metals trading companies are experiencing their highest ever profits, with prices rising to or near record levels. Copper traded near record levels reached earlier this month as a series of mining disruptions exacerbated supply shortages, coinciding with rising demand. BHP Group revealed on Tuesday that it increased copper production in the first quarter, and the company expects global demand for the red metal to jump 70% by 2050. Also read: The Trump administration warns China against targeting companies that work with the United States. Zinc futures rose 0.4% to $2,991 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange at 11:51 am. in Shanghai, while nickel rose 0.2%, and copper rose 0.1%. Iron ore futures rose 1% to $104.55 a tonne in Singapore, and yuan-denominated futures rose on the Dalian Stock Exchange, while steel futures were mixed in Shanghai.