Copper prices continue to fluctuate

Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were volatile today. The initial shock from the US announcement of a 50% import tariff effective August 1 has faded as the market awaits further details.

LME three-month copper fell 0.18% to $9,683.50 a tonne at 04:01 GMT. The contract has lost 1.73% so far this week and is on track for its second weekly decline.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.18% to 78,530 yuan/ton ($10,943.12), but is set to close the week down 1.97%.

US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that a 50% tariff on copper will be imposed starting August 1 to support the domestic development of an industry that is key to the defense, electronics and automotive sectors.

“Uncertainties and unknowns remain, such as which copper products will be included, whether the 50% tariff will be final or adjusted, or whether the implementation date will be extended,” said a Beijing-based analyst.

In the previous session, the COMEX premium over the LME was $ 2,615/ton, or 27%, down from its peak reached on Tuesday as processors shipped nearly a year's worth of copper imports to the US so far this year.

The analyst said a 50% increase in the COMEX-LME premium may not be realistic given that so much copper is shipped to the US, but a 40% increase is likely if the tariff is implemented as announced.

On the LME, lead fell 0.54% to $2,033/ton and nickel fell 0.2% to $15,260/ton.