Gold and silver miners jump on new Trump tariff uncertainty
Gold and silver miners were up near the top of the London leaderboard at the start of the week, as precious metals prices picked up on the back of the new uncertainty over tariffs sparked by the Supreme Court decision at the end of last week.
Fresnillo PLC shares were up 3.3% and Endeavour Mining PLC 3.1% on the FTSE 100, while among mid-caps, Hochschild Mining PLC rose 3% and Pan African Resources PLC gained 2.2%.
The price of gold rose to above $5,170 an ounce in early morning trading, the highest in over three weeks, before easing to $5,125.
Silver was up 1.7% at $86/oz, having neared $88 in the early hours, at least a two-week high.
Copper prices spiked overnight, but were down in early European trading, though copper miner Antofagasta PLC was up 1.4%, with Glencore PLC and Anglo American PLC shares also moving higher.
Many metal prices started to rise on Friday when the US Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump’s broad-based tariffs were unconstitutional.
The White House immediately responded with plans for a 10% global tariff under new rules, increasing this to 15% on Saturday, the maximum tariff that can be imposed using the ‘Section 122’ authority, which only lasts until mid-July.
Wall Street stocks also had a positive week overall, ending on the front foot after the US Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump’s broad-based tariffs were unconstitutional.
The White House immediately responded with plans for a 10% global tariff under new rules, increasing this to 15% on Saturday, the maximum tariff that can be imposed using the ‘Section 122’ authority, which only lasts until mid-July.
This “leaves a substantial amount of uncertainty, even if markets initially welcomed the perceived clarity of ‘only’ a 10% tariff on Friday”, said Deutsche Bank’s macro strategy team.
It also led the US dollar index to slip from a three-week high.
Continued tariff news, said market analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote, “could help commodities extend their rally, weigh on the US dollar, and pressure tariff- and trade-sensitive sectors and indices. In this context, the FTSE 100 should outperform peers, while mainland European indices could come under renewed pressure.”