Copper futures hovered below $4.40 per pound on Friday and were on track for a weekly drop of around 24%, pressured by a surprise US tariff exemption.
President Donald Trump announced that the newly imposed copper tariffs would apply only to semi-finished products such as wires and pipes, sparing key inputs like ore, cathodes, and concentrates, the most commonly imported forms of copper.
Traders had previously rushed shipments into the US to frontload expected tariffs, inflating domestic premiums.
With the exemption now in place, those premiums are unwinding quickly.
Analysts also warned the US may face a glut of copper, with excess inventory potentially being re-exported, adding further pressure to global prices.
