[ferro-alloys.com]As the world awaits the results of the US presidential campaign there were no clear winners on the metals front either, with copper under a little pressure and gold steady.

The winner of the White House, and control of the US Senate, remained unknown early Nov. 4 as mail-in ballots continued to be counted, but implications for energy and commodity markets unfolded in local and state races across the country.

US equity futures were whipsawing around ahead of the open, as the market waited on a count that could still takes days to be completed, with the final result potentially subject to legal challenges.

The future of US energy and climate policy hangs on the races for president and about a dozen tightly contested US Senate seats.

President Donald Trump would continue a deregulatory push that emphasizes the country's abundant fossil fuel resources if elected to a second term, while Democratic challenger Joe Biden would embrace a shift to clean energy through climate policy, tougher environmental regulations and restrictions on federal oil and gas permitting.

Copper would be a big winner from a large-scale US push into renewables. The London Metal Exchange three-months copper price was spot bid roughly $25 lighter at $6,755/mt at 1250 GMT, around the midpoint of a low of $6,670/mt and a high of $6,807/mt for the session.

Gold, normally a winner in times of uncertainty, was pretty much flat at $1,907/oz, a long way from the 2020 highs above $2,000/oz seen earlier in the year.

Natixis Global Markets Research senior commodities analyst Bernard Dahdah said he was surprised by gold's lackluster reaction to the US elections.

"I would have expected that the tight race and prospect of this election dragging over the next days and potentially in courts would drive prices higher like it did in 2000."

StoneX Group's head of market analysis for EMEA and Asia regions Rhona O'Connell noted the yellow metal "remains mired in its range and likely to stay that way until we have clarity."

"The markets are quiet and we continue to await the overall result," O'Connell said.

Copper fundamentals solid

Looking at copper fundamentals, ANZ said that, fundamentally things are looking solid, in the face of growing coronavirus restrictions across the globe.

"Better-than-expected economic data [from] China [alongside] supply issues have also supported copper. Strikes on Chile continue to impact output, while the resurgence in coronavirus cases is raising the possibility of mines being shut down again. Last week's meeting of the China Communist Party also highlighted the positive medium term outlook for demand. Plans to focus on sustainable growth, including the expansion of renewable energy likely to boost demand for metals such as copper and nickel," ANZ said in its daily research.

Beijing's proposed 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) did not set an economic growth target but made clear that the path forward for China will be more domestically driven, will focus on technological innovations and on environmental sustainability, all of which will reshape China's commodities demand in the coming years.

"The renewables & EV thematics are regularly rolled out as a positive long-term driver for copper demand," UBS said a research note.

(S&P Global Platts)

• [Editor:王可]