Base metals lose 12-27% value on trade war fears in last two months

The decline in base metals' prices is set to affect the profitability of their primary producers in the July-September quarter

Base metals have lost as much as a fourth of their value in the last two months owing to weak global demand in the wake of escalating trade war between the US and China.

The base metals index (LMEX) on the benchmark London Metal Exchange (LME) has slumped 17.5 per cent since the drawdown started on June 7, this year. Zinc led the fall in base metals complex, with 27.3 per cent decline in its price to $2,338 a tonne, on the LME on Thursday. Lead and copper followed suit with a sharp 21.3 per cent and 19 per cent fall