Copper prices in US hit record high after Trump announces 50% tariff

Latest escalation in trade war is expected to push up costs across key parts of US economy

Copper prices hit a record high in the US after Donald Trump announced he would impose a 50% tariff on the industrial metal, in the latest escalation of his trade war.

Trump said before a cabinet meeting on Tuesday: Today we're doing copper," proposing a 50% tariff rate for imports. He also threatened to impose a 200% border tax on pharmaceuticals but in a year or a year and a half's time.