Golden Finance reported that copper and silver futures prices in New York soared above international benchmark prices as traders increased their bets that Trump would impose high import tariffs on the two metals. Front-month silver futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) traded at a premium of more than $0.80 an ounce to London spot silver prices on Thursday, close to December's peak. COMEX front-month copper also trades at a premium of $623 per ton over the same period on the LME, close to record levels last year during the historic short squeeze that rocked the global copper market. Traders have been scrambling to get copper to U.S. warehouses since last year to take advantage of soaring prices. A similar situation has been underway since silver prices began to surge in New York. Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said: "At the start of the year, investors around the world are looking for protection from troublesome and potentially rising inflation, fiscal debt concerns and the unpredictability of Trump." COMEX prices The blowout is "certainly part of the story of Trump's unpredictability."