Copper prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell sharply during Thursday's trading session after US President Donald Trump eased the tariffs.
Trump announced Wednesday evening a 50% tariff on semi-finished copper products and derivatives containing high levels of copper. However, the decision exempted scrap and raw materials used in copper production, such as ores, concentrates, and cathodes.
As a result, the price of copper futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange for September delivery fell 22.25% to $4.3440 per pound at 2:10 p.m. Mecca time.
This reduced the price premium of $3,000 per ton over its counterpart on the London Metal Exchange to a discount of $20.
This comes after the New York Mercantile Exchange attracted large quantities of copper in recent months, following expectations of tighter US tariffs on imports of the red metal.
Macquarie estimates that the US market will take nine months to clear the stocks accumulated in the first half of this year
