The price of copper today surpassed the barrier of 12,000 dollars per ton, rising 0.9% on the London Metal Exchange (LME), in response to the possibility of the United States imposing tariffs on the metal.
According to data from Bloomberg, the price of reference copper on the LME reached this Tuesday, 23, 12,031.50 dollars, which could place the annual increase at approximately 37% until the end of 2025, the highest since 2009.
Experts consider that US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy is the main factor in the sharp increase in copper, as it has already caused drops in mining activity and changes in global trade flows.
They argue that the possible imposition of tariffs increased copper imports in the US this year and, consequently, prompted other markets to pay more to maintain copper supplies.
Likewise, they predict that the metal will continue to become more expensive as US imports increase and despite consumption having fallen significantly in China, a country that holds approximately half of the world’s copper.