Three Judges - Manic Metals Report
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The prices are on the rise after president Trump according to at least three judges says he doesn’t have the authority to put sanctions on China.
A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that President Trump exceeded his authority by imposing tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The ruling invalidated Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announced on April 2nd,yet ignored the fact that Congress granted significant discretion to presidents in the 1960s regarding tariffs.
Copper prices are rising after a judge controversially claimed authority over foreign tariff policies. This judge’s decision limits presidential power and raises constitutional questions about the president’s authority. If every presidential decision is overruled, it undermines the ability to carry out foreign policy and increases global instability. Concerns about copper supplies are growing, especially with the suspension of operations at the Kakula copper mine, which could reduce supply by 150,000 metric tons. The potential removal of sanctions on China may further increase demand for copper.
We of course have been very bullish on the fundamentals long term for copper as we see a major supply deficit in the years to come.
In the short term the market has been held back by concerns about tariffs on China’s slowing economic growth but in the big picture the copper shortage is very likely to occur in the coming years
As we have said, the copper demand is going to remain robust because we’re artificial intelligence but even as its role in electric cars and renewable energy even though electric cars are somewhat out of fashion right now but the best conductor of the world for electricity is copper and the world’s electricity demand is going to explode.
Platinum prices are also solid because of this news the court ruling against Trump tariffs is reducing trade war fears in a stabilizing industrial demand for platinum on top of that the possibility of more sanctions on Russia because of their actions in Ukraine are a possibility though Russia still thinks we can get some trade talks down.
The more we search long gold versus 2 short platinum trade that went into place yesterday it’s making a modest amount of money traditionally the spread can be very bullish but it might be one way to try to take advantage of the discrepancy between the gold and the platinum your platinum has really been outperforming gold in recent weeks partly it of course because of increased risk to supply and potential sanctions. Platinum has increased by 20.09% year to date which is pretty darn impressive as the market realizes that the market is experiencing a supply deficit and we see demand exceeding supplies for mines and recycling throughout the rest of this year and into next year, on top of that we’re seeing the demand for Chinese jewelry increase which also is very supportive for platinum.
This comes as Valterra Platinum the world’s largest platinum miner by value debuted its stock on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange this is a spin off after separating itself from Anglo American
Anglo American exited platinum mining after surviving a 49 billion takeover by BHP group Anglo American still has a 19% stake in the Valtierra platinum but it’s going to be interesting to keep an eye on this stock because platinum’s in tight supplies and this stock could be very interesting over the next few months.
First platinum is still concerned about the US relationships after President Trump called out South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for the murder of innocent white farmers.
Gold had a wild ride that has gained a bit today Kitco Metals reported that the U.S. economy may not be in as bad a shape as initially expected, but the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remains in contraction territory, continuing to support gold’s current safe-haven appeal.
The second estimate of U.S. GDP showed the economy contracted by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2025, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced Thursday. The data was better than expected, as economists had forecast the contraction would remain unchanged at 0.3%.
Trade imbalances contributed to the contraction. The report stated, “The drop in real GDP in Q1 was primarily due to higher imports and reduced government spending. Increases in investment, consumer spending, and exports partially mitigated these effects.”
Not only is gold holding critical support above $3,300 an ounce, but it also attracted some buying interest in the initial reaction to the first-quarter economic data. Spot gold is currently trading just below session highs, at $3,313.70 an ounce, up 0.83% on the day.
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