BASE METAL NEWS – Copper prices hovered around a two-year low on Tuesday as the further escalation in the U.S.-China trade conflict delayed a resolution to a dispute that has depressed economic growth and increased fears over metals demand.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) inched up 0.1% to $5,690 a tonne in official trading rings, failing to achieve any real distance from the $5,640 two-year low touched in the previous session.
China’s central bank on Tuesday said Washington’s decision to label Beijing as a currency manipulator would “severely damage international financial order and cause chaos in financial markets”.
The escalation in tensions could cause a further rift between the world’s two largest economies and hurt global growth, including in China, the world’s biggest metals consumer.
TRADE WAR: The U.S.-China dispute has already spread beyond tariffs to areas such as technology, with analysts warning that tit-for-tat measures could widen in scope and severity, weighing further on business confidence and global economic growth.
