Market News

BY  Yvonne Yue Li

(Bloomberg) -- Copper futures surged after President Donald Trump ordered the US Commerce Department to examine possible imports tariffs on all forms of the metal.

The move was the latest in a string of steps aimed at imposing sector-specific levies to protect US producers and remake global supply chains. Copper markets have already seen major dislocations this year as traders bet on tariffs opening a gap between prices in America and the rest of the world.

Copper futures traded on the Comex in New York rose as much as 4.9%. Shares of US-traded copper miners also climbed on the news, with Freeport-McMoRan Inc. jumping more than 6% in after-market trading, compared with Tuesday’s settlement.

The investigation will be carried out under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which gives the president broad authority to impose restrictions on national security grounds. In a social media post, Trump wrote that the “Great American Copper Industry has been decimated by global actors attacking out domestic production”.

The US president had already announced plans to impose 25% tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum from March 12, widening Section 232 action he took in his first term. With copper, Commerce has up to 270 days to investigate imports and report back to Trump.

Comex copper traded at $4.718 a pound, up 4.1%, as of 12:18 p.m. Shanghai time, while futures on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.8%.

Separately, Chilean copper miner Codelco said it was resuming operations as the country recovered from its biggest power blackout in 15 years. The giant copper miner was forced to halt work at its mines earlier after they lost electricity supply.

--With assistance from Andrew Janes.