Copper bull
Adobe Stock
The Market Online - At The Bell

Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights

Copper is at this week at record prices, above US$10,000 a tonne on the back of Trump’s claims he’ll place a 50% tariff on the electrification metal – the latest tailwind for the megatrend metal.

Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.

Since early this year, the White House has been hinting through its various mouthpieces that the U.S. plans, like steel and aluminium, to tariff copper metal. And now, overnight, the (apparent) confirmation has dropped, as Trump starts to change the goalposts on international trade policy once again.

He’s threatened higher tariffs on Japan, he’s reintroduced the idea of 40% blanket tariffs, and now, copper has finally fallen under the spotlight.

For a few months, the White House has been carrying out a ‘review’ into copper, and the market apparently forgot about that.

Presumably, the U.S. President wanted something else up his sleeve for a while.

And now he’s used it: copper’s hit record prices.

The 1Y copper price chart makes obvious the impact of Trump’s announcement.

Per the above TradingEconomics data, the price of copper futures has surged over +3% in one session after the news dropped just before lunchtime AEST.

Interestingly, copper miners weren’t dominating the top gainers list at the same time on Wednesday, but the day isn’t over yet.

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on HotCopper, Australia’s largest stock forum, and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

More From The Market Online

‘Success’: Eastern Metals enjoys +200% unpause pop after closing out pivotal Raptor acquisition

Eastern Metals − now seeing out its final days under that name − has boomed +200%…
Logo of Rio Tinto on a building in Montreal

Back to the table: Glencore-Rio Tinto restart talks to create world’s largest mining company

Glencore and Rio Tinto have returned to the deal room early in CY26, holding "preliminary discussions"…
The words "Market Open ASX 200 Futures Tip RISE" appear stacked atop one another next to ASX company iconography.

ASX Market Open: Stokes brewing up new BlueScope bid, Glencore-Rio merger convo restarts | Jan 9

ASX today – Friday is looking like an M&A day, with Stokes' conglomerate preparing another BlueScope…
Market Close Graphic

Market Close: Boring day really as 8700pts mark remains the quo; gold retreat hits materials

Welcome to the end of the Thursday session, today’s Market Close will be article-only, but keep an eye on the homepage for the