Daily metals

This Morning Early Tuesday trade split the six-metal complex, with nickel leading gains at $16,940 a tonne, up 0.5% from Monday’s official close. Tin added 0.4% to $55,590, while lead was the weakest performer, falling 0.7% to $1,862.50. Copper declined 0.4% to $14,217.50, with aluminium and zinc each down 0.2% at $3,206 and $3,826, respectively. The balance remains defensive despite selective strength in nickel and tin. Macro & Geopolitics European markets enter Tuesday with the dollar firmer and risk appetite restrained after Washington’s expanded Iran sanctions stopped short of immediate penalties. Brent held near $92.13 a barrel after dropping more than 2% on Monday, easing near-term energy pressure while Tehran’s retaliation threat preserves supply risk. U.S. Treasury yields remained below recent peaks as investors assessed plans to finance larger bond buybacks partly through government cash reserves. Germany’s GDP details and Ifo survey will provide a fresh reading on Europe’s exposure to elevated energy costs. Separately, the escalating U.S.-Canada tariff dispute continues to threaten industrial supply chains. Base Metals Copper is being pulled between tighter visible LME availability and a stronger dollar. Cancelled warrants represented half of total LME copper stocks of 240,250 tonnes on Monday, raising expectations that nearby premiums could firm as material leaves warehouses. That support was insufficient early today as interest-rate and growth concerns dominated. Aluminium also weakened despite a derailment in Guinea halting exports from Rusal’s 600,000-tonne-per-year Friguia alumina refinery and slowing production. Zinc remains comparatively well supported by LME stocks of 93,250 tonnes, down 25% since mid-June, although weak consumption complicates the shortage signal. Nickel and tin resisted the broader pressure in early business. Precious Metals Gold eased 0.2% to about $4,640 an ounce after briefly reaching its highest level in more than three months. Silver fell 1.3% to $68.01, platinum dropped 1.2% to $1,853.85 and palladium lost nearly 1% to $1,345.26 as the dollar recovered. Attention is shifting to Wednesday’s U.S. PCE inflation report and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Friday speech. Strong underlying margins remain evident among producers: Gold Fields reported an 81% rise in half-year profit and increased its interim dividend by 133%. Steel North American trade tensions remain the main steel-market risk. The collapse of U.S.-Canada negotiations left existing 50% U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel in place, while Ottawa plans retaliatory duties on U.S. steel and other products from September 8. The dispute could redirect regional flows and create additional uncertainty for exporters and scrap consumers. In manganese alloys, British startup Natrium Redox Technologies has proposed restarting Tasmania’s Liberty Bell Bay smelter with up to A$15 million in shared government funding, initially restoring conventional production before developing lower-emissions, battery-grade manganese output. Forex The euro slipped 0.1% to around $1.1656 as the dollar gained support from potential demand linked to Washington’s secondary-sanctions threat. For European metals buyers, the softer single currency compounds the cost of dollar-denominated LME material even where outright prices are easing. Sterling was little changed near $1.3624. The Canadian dollar remained under heavier pressure, with the U.S. currency rising to about C$1.3860 as the tariff confrontation intensified. Near-term dollar direction will depend on U.S. inflation expectations and Federal Reserve communication. Watch Today Germany’s detailed second-quarter GDP figures are followed by the August Ifo business survey, making the European morning important for regional growth expectations. Later, U.S. consumer confidence and new-home sales are due at 14:00 GMT, while Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin is scheduled to speak. Germany and the UK will also reopen government debt auctions, keeping sovereign yields in focus.