International Monetary Fund or IMF has stated that metals prices rose amid safe-haven demand and supply disruptions until the end of March, but things changed abruptly on April 2. The IMF’s metals price index increased by 11.2 percent between August 2024 and March 2025, with the rise driven mainly by gold, aluminum, and copper prices. Among base metals, aluminum (12.7 percent) and copper prices (8.4 percent) increased the most because of supply concerns. Both metals also faced demand pressures from front-loading ahead of tariffs. Like those for energy, industrial metals prices dropped abruptly in the first week of April as trade tensions escalated. Futures markets now predict a downturn in prices for base metals, with price declines of 5.7, 4.5 and 14.3 percent for aluminum, copper, and iron ore, respectively, by the end of 2026. This stands in contrast to what has taken place regarding prices for precious metals: Gold prices have repeatedly set new records amid policy and geopolitical uncertainty, recently surpassing their historical high at $3,000 a ton.
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