Copper Heads for Sharp Weekly Gain

Copper futures held above $5.50 per pound on Friday and were on track to post a weekly gain of about 10%, driven by a sharp shift in US trade policy. President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on copper imports starting August 1, following a national security review that underscored the metal’s strategic significance. Trump highlighted copper’s critical role as the second most-used material by the Department of Defense and its widespread applications across vital sectors, including semiconductors, aerospace, ammunition, data centers, lithium-ion batteries, radar systems, missile defense, and hypersonic weapons. The US currently imports nearly half of its copper consumption, with Chile as its primary supplier. The tariff announcement triggered a sharp divergence in pricing, pushing the premium on US copper futures over London Metal Exchange contracts to roughly 27%, as global copper benchmarks retreated.