Copper ‘Lotto Tickets’ Pay Off After Trump Shrinks From Tariffs

Options traders who bet the Trump administration would renege on its promise to tariff raw copper imports are cashing in big.

On Wednesday evening, more than 31,000 contracts went from out-of-the-money to in-the-money after President Donald Trump shockingly exempted the most widely imported form of copper. The contracts, now with a notional value of $3.54 billion, reflect a significant shift in the copper options market. That’s a sharp increase from Tuesday evening, when only 675 in-the-money put options were recorded, valued at $94.4 million.

It’s a win for bearish traders who believed Trump would back off his tariff vow. It ...