copper

Traders and brokers are seizing on arbitrage opportunities.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Iranian metals industry generates billions of dollars for the regime, contributing to its nuclear weapons program.

China’s $3B copper mining deal in Afghanistan, the largest foreign investment in the country’s history, is going nowhere. 10 years into a 30 year lease, supply chain problems are keeping any copper from being extracted at all.

Steadily rising global copper prices have spurred US production, up 21% since 2011. Although Chinese demand has softened somewhat, copper from mines in the Southwest should flow into Texas, Florida, and California as they rebuild from natural disasters.