US copper futures fall to $6.45 on tariff backtrack reports
US copper futures plummeted to $6.45 on Thursday, down from $6.5 earlier in the session, on reports the White House is reconsidering copper tariff plans. Traders linked the earlier tariff signals to a surge in prices and metal inflows into North America.
5 earlier in the session, after reports the US will backtrack on copper tariffs. The White House is revisiting its earlier signal to impose levies on refined copper products, with manufacturers facing high inflation ahead of the midterms. Expectations that the US would extend tariffs to refined copper after semi-finished products had already helped lift global prices and drew large inflows of metal into North America. The move came alongside shortages of sulfuric acid for major copper refiners worldwide, while supply pressure from GCC countries led China to stop its exports.
Backwardation curves also steepened across major Western copper exchanges. 1% decline in global output in the first half of the year.