Tariff Turmoil Drives Copper Prices to Record High
As the week got started, copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) climbed to their highest-ever level as markets increasingly expected that President Trump would expand tariffs on imports to include refined copper. The benchmark 3-month futures contract on the LME climbed by 0.8% and exceeded the record price that had previously been notched in January this year. A ton of copper is now trading at $14,533 on the LME. The rise in copper prices over the previous 12 months has largely been supported by a supply squeeze that coincided with several major mines experiencing declining output while demand…
