Market News

(Bloomberg) -- Copper is vulnerable to further declines if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. warned, as metals markets brace for President Donald Trump’s deadline for an Iran deal.

“We see the near-term risks as skewed to the downside if strait flows remain disrupted for longer than our base case, which would keep energy prices higher for longer and likely slow global economic growth,” analysts including Aurelia Waltham said in a note.

Most base metals have come under growing pressure in the past month, as soaring oil and gas prices threaten to stifle economic growth and erode demand for industrial commodities. There’s intense uncertainty across markets on Tuesday as investors weigh Trump’s escalating threats against Tehran.

While Goldman’s base case is for the strait to begin re-opening from mid-April, the analysts said that copper was already trading well above its estimated fair value of about $11,100 a ton. Prices have already fallen more than 7% since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

Copper is still getting support from a tight market outside the US and the prospect of widespread strategic stockpiling, the analysts said. But those factors could become less decisive in the event of the bank’s “severely adverse” scenario for the global economy, they added.

“The copper price is not being supported at the current level by fundamentals, making it vulnerable to another move lower should the economic outlook deteriorate and investors de-risk,” they wrote. The bank trimmed its base-case forecast for copper this year to an average of $12,650 a ton, down from $12,850. The metal has averaged about $12,850 a ton so far this year.

Copper fell 0.4% to settle at $12,313 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, while other metals were mixed.

--With assistance from Yvonne Yue Li.