Copper prices hit record high after Trump previews 50% tariff

The big picture: Copper futures were up more than 9.5% at 3:08pm to $5.51 per pound.

• At one point today, the commodity was up 13%, marking the "largest single-day price surge in records going back to 1968, according to Dow Jones Market Data," per WSJ.

Zoom in: Trump set off the copper rush when he told reporters during a cabinet meeting, "I believe the tariff on copper, we're going to make it 50%."

• "The copper rate, while long telegraphed, threatens to upend an industry that for decades subsisted on a combination of vibrant domestic production and steady imports from some of the US's strongest trade allies," Bloomberg reports.
• "It also comes after Trump during his first term focused his raw materials trade war on steel and aluminum, leaving copper producers, traders and consumers relieved that they avoided market upheaval."

State of play: The U.S. has substantial domestic copper mining capacity but still imports massive quantities.

• The U.S. produced about 850,000 tons of refined copper in 2024, while it imported about 810,000 tons, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

• Arizona makes up about 70% of U.S. production, while the rest comes from Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
• Chile represented 65% of U.S. refined copper imports from 2020 through 2023, while Canada made up 17%, Mexico 9%, Peru 6% and others 3%.

What we're watching: The tariff threat comes as gold and copper miner Aura Minerals is planning to raise $210 million via a Nasdaq float, Axios' Dan Primack reports.

• Aura, which primarily mines in Latin America, mentions "tariffs" 16 times in its Nasdaq listing prospectus.
• Most of its revenue comes from gold, but 33% is for its gold-copper concentrate.