Metals pressured by U.S. yields and the dollar despite tight physical supply
📉 Gold ended the week around $4,140/oz, down roughly 3.4%, while silver and platinum also weakened. A soft U.S. NFP report briefly pushed gold more than 1% higher on Friday, but the rebound quickly faded as Treasury yields recovered and the DXY posted a third consecutive weekly gain.
🏦 Opportunity cost remained the main driver. The U.S. 10-year yield reached its highest level since 2002, pressuring non-yielding metals first, while Middle East tensions were transmitted mainly through oil and yields rather than generating sustained safe-haven demand for gold.
⛏️ LME copper fell around 2% toward $14,300/ton despite physical conditions remaining relatively tight. SHFE inventories stood at just 38,744 tons, down 79% in four months, while Chinese smelter maintenance and disruptions in Chile continued to constrain the supply backdrop.
🏭 Aluminum also showed a notable disconnect. LME inventories remain at very low levels and around 560,000 tons of annual Gulf capacity has been affected, yet prices still fell more than 4% over six sessions while the forward curve remained in contango. The market is currently pricing demand and macro conditions more heavily than supply risks.
🧱 Singapore iron ore slipped toward $91/ton, near longer-term lows, as China entered the Golden Week holiday and major steel mills cut coke prices. Thin liquidity in the coming sessions could leave base metals more sensitive to the dollar, oil and supply headlines before Chinese physical demand returns after the holiday.
#Metals $XAU $XAG $XCU
📉 Gold ended the week around $4,140/oz, down roughly 3.4%, while silver and platinum also weakened. A soft U.S. NFP report briefly pushed gold more than 1% higher on Friday, but the rebound quickly faded as Treasury yields recovered and the DXY posted a third consecutive weekly gain.
🏦 Opportunity cost remained the main driver. The U.S. 10-year yield reached its highest level since 2002, pressuring non-yielding metals first, while Middle East tensions were transmitted mainly through oil and yields rather than generating sustained safe-haven demand for gold.
⛏️ LME copper fell around 2% toward $14,300/ton despite physical conditions remaining relatively tight. SHFE inventories stood at just 38,744 tons, down 79% in four months, while Chinese smelter maintenance and disruptions in Chile continued to constrain the supply backdrop.
🏭 Aluminum also showed a notable disconnect. LME inventories remain at very low levels and around 560,000 tons of annual Gulf capacity has been affected, yet prices still fell more than 4% over six sessions while the forward curve remained in contango. The market is currently pricing demand and macro conditions more heavily than supply risks.
🧱 Singapore iron ore slipped toward $91/ton, near longer-term lows, as China entered the Golden Week holiday and major steel mills cut coke prices. Thin liquidity in the coming sessions could leave base metals more sensitive to the dollar, oil and supply headlines before Chinese physical demand returns after the holiday.
#Metals $XAU $XAG $XCU
