BofA update shows where active managers are putting money
Investing.com - London-listed mining stocks sank in early trading on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would institute a 50% tariff on imports of the red metal.
Shares of Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) fell by 2.6% and Hochschild Mining (LON:HOCM) dropped 3.4%, while Glencore PLC (LON:GLEN) and Anglo American (JO:AGLJ) PLC (LON:AAL) both dipped by more than 2%. Rio Tinto PLC (LON:RIO) edged down by 0.7%.
By contrast, U.S.-based copper producer Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had risen by 2.5% in premarket U.S. trading, after advancing by that same amount in the prior session.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. would impose the duties on copper, a crucial metal used in everything from vehicle manufacturing to military hardware and electric grid infrastructure. The tariffs would join levies already in place on other materials like steel, aluminum, and autos.
"I believe the tariff on copper, we’re going to make 50%," Trump said.
Trump’s statements were later reiterated by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who said that a so-called Section 232 investigation into U.S. imports of the red metal had concluded. The probe was first announced in February and was slated to end in November.
He added that implementation of the heightened copper tariff is expected to come by the end of July or early August.
London Metal Exchange copper prices fell after Trump’s comments, sharply widening an arbitrage spread with U.S. COMEX prices. U.S. COMEX copper futures, meanwhile, spiked to touch an all-time high of $13,000 per metric ton.
Analysts have warned of short-term volatility in copper prices until more details emerge around the make-up of Trump’s heightened copper tariff, which has arrived both earlier and greater than consensus estimates had anticipated. Strategists at Goldman Sachs noted that, with markets now pricing in a roughly 60% chance that the elevated tariff will take effect, copper imports in the U.S. could accelerate in the coming weeks as exporters look to avoid the higher duty.