Trump's tariff concerns are worsening, causing the prices of silver and copper in the United States to skyrocket, breaking away from the international standard.

The prices of copper and silver futures in New York have soared above international benchmark prices as traders increase their bets that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will impose high import tariffs on these two metals as part of his global trade war escalation. On Thursday, the near-month silver futures prices on the New York Commodity Exchange (COMEX) carried a premium of over $0.90 per ounce above London spot prices, close to the high point of last December, as traders reacted to Trump's commitment to impose universal tariffs on all goods from all countries. The New York silver premium jumped again Before Trump's inauguration on January 20, financial markets were increasingly anxious about Trump's trade policies. It was reported that Trump's team was planning to reduce import tariffs on key commodities, possibly including copper, but Trump denied this. On Wednesday, media cited sources saying that Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency to provide legal basis for comprehensive tariff imposition. Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said, "This year, investors around the world are seeking protection to deal with inflation, fiscal debt concerns, and Trump's unpredictability." The surge in New York commodity futures prices is "definitely part of the story of Trump's unpredictability." Comex near-month copper futures prices also carry a premium of $623 per ton over similar futures on the London Metal Exchange, close to the record level during last year's historic short squeeze period. Since last year, traders have been shipping copper to warehouses in the U.S. to profit from the price surge. Traders have also been taking similar actions since the surge in New York silver prices. New York copper prices carry a huge premium over London futures While the price discrepancy has brought huge opportunities for traders with metals on hand, it also poses great risks for investors without metals. Prices in the New York and London metal markets usually trade almost synchronously, and many algorithmic traders and hedge funds try to profit by betting on narrowing spreads. In the case of copper, this might involve buying London copper contracts while selling New York futures. Usually, these so-called arbitrage trades will quickly bring the price back to normal levels. If the spread continues to widen, investors may face massive losses. This dynamic was a key factor behind the short squeeze in the copper market last year, when arbitrage traders bet that New York futures prices would fall relative to London futures prices, resulting in increasing losses. Now, some traders and analysts suggest that the short squeeze may be repeating in the silver market because the amount of silver available for delivery at the New York Commodity Exchange is limited. Daniel Ghali, senior commodity strategist at TD Securities, said, "The market is currently sleepwalking into a squeeze. People are completely ignoring this risk." Traders rush to ship copper and silver to New York In the silver market, major traders can ship metal from London to New York warehouses to close arbitrage trades. Over the past five weeks, the silver warehouses on the New York Commodity Exchange have increased by 15 million ounces. Usually, silver is transported by ships, with delivery times ranging from 30 to 45 days. However, Ghali said that after four consecutive years of severe shortages in global silver production, the stocks in the London market have been severely depleted, and further outflows could lead to price surges. He said, "We expect the scale of the outflow to be very large, this is your 'silver squeeze period' that you can buy into."