Copper Premium Sinks as US Tariff Plans Stall

The premium for shipping copper to the US dropped sharply after Reuters reported that Washington's plans to impose a tariff on imports of the metal have stalled. The White House is hesitant to implement tariffs due to concerns they could raise manufacturing costs, offsetting potential benefits from encouraging domestic mining.

Benchmark copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 3% to $14,329.50 per ton as a result of the news, while prices on the US COMEX exchange dropped 4.7% to $6.49 per pound or $14,308 per ton.

The spread between LME and COMEX copper, which had grown significantly due to traders shipping metal to the US before a possible tariff from January 2027, turned negative, making shipments uneconomic.