Copper's Political Crossroads

It's Benzinga, bringing Wall Street to Main Street. Copper prices traded around $6.40 per pound Wednesday as Wall Street reacted to the midterm elections, according to Benzinga. The possibility of U.S. tariffs on refined copper imports has driven large amounts of copper into the United States. This has kept copper futures prices on the U.S. COMEX exchange higher than prices on the London Metal Exchange. A Democratic Congress could increase scrutiny of the artificial intelligence sector, putting pressure on copper demand from data centers, according to Bloomberg. However, ING economist James Smith said Trump could use executive trade powers to impose tariffs on refined copper imports without congressional approval. Those tariffs could benefit domestic producers, including Freeport-McMoran, by lifting U.S. copper prices relative to global benchmarks. Meanwhile, Freeport announced a $4.5 billion expansion of its Baghdad mine in Arizona. For all things money, visit Benzinga.com.