Commodity Roundup: Gold faces third weekly loss; industrial metals slide amid U.S. trade moves

[Eight common precoius Bullion Bars arranged into prism]
pryzmat

Gold prices rose on Friday but were on track for a third straight weekly loss as a stronger dollar crimped safe-haven demand, while industrial metals posted losses across the board this week as markets digested a combination of US trade moves with sluggish demand in Mainland China.

Strong economic data out of the US, alongside the US-EU trade deal announcement, saw the US dollar index rise to a 2-month high just shy of the 100.0 mark, putting downward pressure on gold.

Following the US Fed’s decision to hold rates in July, Fitch's BMI said its macro team continues to expect a cumulative 50bps of cuts before the end of the year, which should support bullion as a non-yielding asset.

With further tariff announcements also likely, it expects gold prices to remain elevated and maintain the 2025 forecast of $3,100/oz.

Meanwhile, benchmark copper prices on the London Metal Exchange slumped 2.3% to $9,698/tonne after reports emerged that Chile – the world’s largest copper miner - was attempting to secure an exemption to Trump’s 50% tariff before its introduction on August 1.

Copper traded in New York plunged more than 20% on July 30 after the White House announced that the 50% tariff would not apply to imports of refined copper.

"Other base metals also performed poorly this week, with aluminium and nickel prices falling 1.9% and 3.5% w-o-w to close at $2,601/tonne and $15,021/tonne, respectively, as Chinese demand continued to disappoint," the report said.

Ferrous metals also ended the week lower after China’s official manufacturing PMI registered the fourth consecutive month in contraction, falling to 49.3 in July from 49.7 in June.

Elsewhere, soybean oil has outperformed the rest of the vegetable oils complex over the first half of 2025, the research by BMI said.

On a year-to-date basis up to July 29, CBOT-listed second-month soybean oil futures posted a 42% increase.

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