US copper futures fell to $6.45 on Thursday, retreating from a record high of $6.50 earlier in the session, following reports that Washington may reverse course on proposed copper tariffs. The White House is said to be reconsidering its earlier indication that it would impose levies on refined copper products, amid concerns about elevated input costs for manufacturers ahead of the midterm elections.
Expectations that refined copper would be added to existing tariffs on semi-finished products had fueled a sharp rise in global prices and spurred heavy inflows of metal into North America. At the same time, a persistent shortage of sulfuric acid — a key input for major copper refiners — has intensified, as tighter supplies from GCC countries prompted China to suspend its exports. As a result, backwardation in copper futures curves has steepened across the major Western exchanges.
On the supply side, mined output has weakened. Codelco and Freeport-McMoRan both reported double-digit declines in production, shortly after the International Copper Study Group highlighted a 1.1% drop in global copper production in the first half of the year.
