FT: Traders expect to make more than $300 million on US copper price jump due to tariffs

Four major commodity traders – Trafigura, Mercuria, Glencore and IXM – could make more than $300 million in profit by selling record volumes of copper in the United States ahead of the introduction of duties. About this writes Financial Times.

This is due to a sharp jump in copper prices in the US following the announcement by Donald Trump of new 50% duties on copper imports on August 1, which was twice as high as market expectations.

After Trump's announcement, the price of copper in the US soared by 13% in a matter of minutes, and the difference with prices on the London Metal Exchange reached 28%.

This created an exceptional opportunity for arbitrage. Traders bought cheaper copper at international prices, shipped it to the US, and sold it at a much higher price.

According to insiders, since November, the United States has imported about 600,000 tons of "excess" copper. A conservative estimate of the profit from this volume is at least $312 million, or about $520 per ton (including $500 for logistics and expenses).

Trafigura delivered about 200,000 tons, Mercuria – almost 200,000 tons, Glencore – from 100 to 200,000 tons, IXM – more than 50,000 tons, sources say.

This surge in imports has created a copper shortage in other parts of the world, traders say.

• on July 10, Trump announced the introduction of a 50% duty on copper imports to the United States from August 1.
• Trump wants to increase the universal duty from 10% to 15-20%. This will affect Ukraine.