base metal

American  

noun

1. any metal other than a precious or noble metal, as copper, lead, zinc, or tin.

2. the principal metal of an alloy.

3. the principal metal of a piece underlying a coating of another metal; core.

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base metal British  

noun

1. any of certain common metals such as copper, lead, zinc, and tin, as distinct from the precious metals, gold, silver, and platinum

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Example Sentences

Prices are high enough that “it must be causing pain to U.S. manufacturers,” according to William Adams, head of base metals research at Fastmarkets.

From The Wall Street Journal

A volatile day was setting up for precious and base metals, with silver in the spotlight as traders watched China markets for signals of a deeper rout.

From MarketWatch

Analysts at Saxo Bank added that oil markets are also seeing spillover pressure from the rout in precious and base metals.

From MarketWatch

A volatile day was setting up for precious and base metals, with pressure focused on silver astraders watched China markets for signals of a deeper rout.

From MarketWatch

He instead pointed to similarly unusual moves in base metals like copper.

From The Wall Street Journal