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Building America’s Defense Critical Metals Supply
On Thursday, metal and mining stocks suffered a broad sell-off. The release of the U.S. producer price report and crude oil prices breaking above $105 per barrel pushed market expectations for a Fed rate hike next week to about 70%. At the same time, reports that the White House’s copper tariff plan had stalled removed support from copper prices, which had previously hit record highs for four consecutive trading days.
Copper prices plunged after a record-setting streak, dragging down the market value of major miners such as Freeport-McMoRan; gold and silver came under pressure as the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields strengthened. The market will next closely watch Friday’s consumer price data and the Fed’s decision at next week’s meeting.
Comex December copper fell as much as 5.4% in New York to $6.5160 per pound, after settling at a record $6.8885 the previous day. In early afternoon trading, it was at $6.5220 per pound (about $14,380 per ton), down 5.3%, slightly above the session low. December gold fell as much as 2.1% to $4,365.40 per ounce, then narrowed its loss to 1.6% at $4,391.00; December silver tumbled as much as 6.1% to $64.455, and was last at $64.575, down 5.9%. Platinum and palladium both fell more than 6%.
The decline in copper prices stemmed from a Reuters report. The report said the White House had not yet made a decision on refined copper tariffs, and officials were weighing the risk of higher manufacturing costs ahead of the November midterm elections. Previously, traders had been shipping copper into U.S. warehouses all year, and the market had almost ruled out the possibility that the tariff would not materialize. Hedge funds held large long positions, and copper’s correlation with the S&P 500 was at a multi-decade high, so when the tariff premium wavered, the market had almost no buffer.
Gold, meanwhile, was pressured by a surge in Brent crude oil driven by Middle East tensions. Swap traders raised the probability of a September rate hike from about 60% earlier in the day, and Friday’s consumer price data is the last major report before the Fed meeting. Silver outperformed gold during its August rally, and this time its decline was more than four times that of gold. Platinum and palladium also fell as the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields both strengthened after the data.
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), the world’s largest listed copper producer, fell more than 7% in early afternoon trading in New York, with volume of 15 million shares by that point exceeding its average full-day volume over the past two weeks. The decline cut Freeport’s market value to $101.7 billion, and another 2% drop would take it below the $100 billion threshold it first broke through during its August rebound. Teck Resources (TECK) reached its average daily volume before noon and fell more than 6%; Southern Copper (SCCO) fell by a similar margin, wiping out more than $10 billion in market value. Antofagasta fell 7% in over-the-counter trading, while Anglo American (NGLOY), Lundin Mining (LUNMF), and First Quantum (FQVLF) all fell more than 6%. Ivanhoe Mines (IVPAF) gave back 5% after rising 17% over the past week on news of an expansion at the Makoko discovery area in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Diversified giants were also dragged down: BHP (BHP) fell 6% in New York, and Rio Tinto (RIO) fell more than 4%.
Silver’s 5.5% drop was its worst single-day performance since June, and it was 6% below its closing level after a 20% rise over three weeks in August. The metal has fallen 9% cumulatively in 2026, after touching $121.64 in January. Gold mining stocks avoided the worst of the impact. Newmont (NEM) fell less than 2%, keeping its market value at $132 billion; Agnico Eagle (AEM) slipped nearly 3%, enough to push it below a threshold where it had hovered for the entire month.
