Copper Hits Decade Highs As Tariffs Continue To Pile Onto U.S. Builders

Copper prices are on track for their largest annual increase in more than a decade, intensifying cost pressures across construction and development just months after the Trump administration imposed a 50% tariff on finished copper products used in U.S. building projects.

Copper prices surged more than 30% in 2025, briefly topping $12,000 per metric ton in December — the biggest yearly rise since 2009, according to the Financial Times. 

Analysts at StoneX, Marex, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and Macquarie said copper’s rally reflects a convergence of mine supply disruptions, tariff-driven trade distortions and rising fears of a structural deficit emerging later this decade as demand outpaces mined supply.

The price surge comes as the U.S. construction industry is already absorbing higher costs from tariffs announced earlier this year by President Donald Trump, which exempted raw copper cathodes but imposed steep duties on semifinished and derivative copper products such as pipes and wiring. Bisnow reporting and Skanska cost data from August showed copper component prices up roughly 15% to as much as 40% over the past year.

According to the Financial Times, importers rushed copper into the U.S. ahead of tariffs, driving Comex inventories to record highs while LME stocks fell sharply, opening an unusual pricing gap between U.S. and global benchmarks as fears of further trade restrictions persist.

Supply-side pressures are also intensifying. 

According to the FT, production disruptions at major copper mines and long lead times for new supply have tightened the market, with analysts warning that demand from data centers, electrification and renewables is likely to outstrip mined supply from the middle of the decade onward.

For developers, the implications extend beyond short-term volatility. Even if tariff exemptions expand, elevated base copper prices threaten to lock in higher material costs across sectors where copper is difficult to substitute, including data centers, healthcare facilities and power-intensive commercial projects.

Construction firms are already adjusting procurement strategies, contract structures and material specifications where possible. But industry economists have warned that copper’s role in modern infrastructure leaves limited room to fully offset the price surge.

With tariffs, supply constraints and long-term demand all reinforcing each other, copper’s run-up is increasingly viewed not as a temporary spike but as a structural shift — one likely to keep construction costs elevated even as broader inflation shows signs of cooling.