European natural-gas prices rose more than 3%, a jump largely attributed to an outage at the U.S. Freeport LNG facility and news that Germany might subsidize storage refills this summer to ensure the country reaches its target.
Oil rose but prices continued to be volatile in early trade amid uncertainties over the impact of Trumpβs energy policies and proposed tariffs on the market.
Sterling was stronger against the dollar and could recover if the U.K. Treasury Chief considered revising her fiscal plans, Monex Europe said, adding that there was only a low bar to meet to support the pound, as traders had already priced in their disappointment at the budget.
Base metal prices fell, and BofA said while trade disputes were a key risk to prices, copperβs fundamentals remained strong and it expects Chinaβs copper demand to rise 3% on year in 2025, up from 2% in 2024.
The market is split on the timing and size of tariffs on China, the EU, Mexico, Canada, and now Russiaβbut traders, analysts and farmers are preparing in the same way they did in 2018.