Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were broadly lower during morning trading on Friday July 6, with US import tariffs on Chinese goods coming into effect overnight and weakening market sentiment for the complex.
Leading the index lower was nickel, which dipped below $14,000 per tonne during morning trading to levels not seen since May 10. Nickel prices continued their downtrend despite a wide contango in the metal's cash/three-month spread - last seen at $90 per tonne and the widest since October 2017 - and a persistent drawdown in LME stock, which are now at a four-year low. "US customs officials will begin collecting an additional 25% tariff on imports from China of goods ranging from farming plows to semiconductors and airplane parts," SP Angel analyst John Meyer said in his morning report. "Tit-for-tat threats are escalating with China's officials saying previously they would respond by imposing higher levies on goods ranging from American soybeans to...