2025.08.2809:45:32UTC+00Coper Holds July Plunge

Copper futures have stabilized at approximately $4.4 per pound, following a dramatic near 20% drop in late July. This decline occurred after the U.S. government made a significant policy shift by removing refined copper from its list of tariffed goods. Initially, the U.S. had planned to impose a widespread tariff on copper products. However, they ultimately decided to apply tariffs solely to imports of semi-finished copper items, such as wires and pipes, thereby exempting key materials like ore, cathodes, and concentrates from these taxes. This decision triggered a substantial selloff in copper futures, with nearly a 20% decline within a single trading session, and led to the unwinding of accumulated copper futures and warrants in the U.S. as traders moved metal before the tariffs were enforced. Meanwhile, Zijin, a leading Chinese copper mining company, has observed that copper demand in China continues to be strong, driven by the growth of data centers and electrification technologies, despite recent signs of a slowdown in manufacturing activity as indicated by the latest official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data.