Freeport-McMoRan attractively valued after White House copper tariff uncertainty, Goldman says

Copper prices plummeted on Thursday after a Reuters report suggested the White House's proposed tariff on refined copper faced affordability challenges. The United States is currently experiencing record-high copper prices due to surpluses of physical copper in its warehouses. The White House has not yet decided on the refined copper tariffs, as officials weigh the potential costs of higher prices against the benefits of promoting domestic mining.

This uncertainty has eroded the tariff trade risk premium, causing US copper prices to drop by 4.6%. Major copper producers, including Freeport-McMoRan, Southern Copper, and Teck Resources, saw significant declines of 8%, 7%, and 7.9%, respectively. The report is likely to further tighten the CME-LME arbitrage, which had previously benefited US copper exporters like Freeport.