Copper, silver pull back from record high levels

PRICES OF COPPER and silver retreated from record high levels on Thursday.

- AGENCIES

Copper fell because of a stronger dollar and easing concerns over the potential imposition of US tariffs on the metal, while silver declined as investors took profits after a blistering rally.

The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.3% at $13,145 a tonne in official open-outcry activity, having touched a record $13,407 on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had opted against imposing tariffs on rare earths, lithium and other critical minerals. Copper is on the US critical minerals list and faces a potential 15% import tariff from 2027 but was not mentioned in Trump’s statement.

“If there’s a dial down in desire to put tariffs in right now for the other metals, that reduces the risk for copper as well,” said WisdomTree commodity strategist Nitesh Shah. “So, maybe there’s a little bit of premium coming off there.”