Copper price sets new record in London

Ben Graham · Dezembro 3

Copper prices soared to a new record in London following a spike in orders to withdraw the metal from London Metal Exchange warehouses amid concerns of a global supply squeeze.

Futures on the LME jumped as much as 2.6% to more than $11,400 per tonne during Wednesday’s morning trading, surpassing the previous peak set two sessions ago. It has since retreated to around the $11,100 level.

The copper rally has been building momentum in recent weeks as a growing chorus of traders and analysts warned of global inventories reaching critically low levels, while huge volumes of metal are being shipped to the US in anticipation of tariffs.

The LME’s global benchmark price is now up by over 30% this year, but US futures have rallied even further, with investors betting that President Donald Trump will eventually place levies on primary forms of the metal on top of semi-finished copper products.

Further tightness

Back in July, copper prices on the Comex exchange shot up to a record as the market had anticipated a 50% tariff on copper imports into the US. While Trump limited the tariffs to only value-added copper products, he also pledged to review whether to go ahead with levies on commodity-grade forms of the metal from 2027.

The decision has had huge ramifications in the physical copper market, with traders once again ramping up shipments to American ports as US futures surge.

“The scale of those LME withdrawals indicates that available supply is being drawn down more quickly than before, and it raises the prospect of further tightness, heading into next year,” Nour Al Ali, a Bloomberg strategist, said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, producers have also announced plans to charge record premiums to supply customers in Europe and Asia next year, with buyers in effect compensating them for the additional profits they could make selling to the US.

The current market dynamics, according to Mercuria Energy Group, could fuel a major global supply squeeze by the first quarter of next year. Recently, the commodity trader predicted that copper prices will push even deeper into uncharted territory.

Mercuria metals boss says ‘this is the big one’ for copper bulls

Supply disruptions

At a fundamental level, the copper market has been hit by a slew of mine outages from Chile to Indonesia that have tightened supplies this year.

The latest signs of tightness came on Wednesday, when Ivanhoe Mines trimmed its production outlook from the massive Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo as it continues to recover from flooding. Glencore Plc — which has seen a 40% output drop since 2018 — also cut its target for next year.

The supply concerns have propelled copper prices even in a tepid environment for demand. Chinese smelters and miners are locked in supply talks for 2026 that are proving difficult, as miners hold the upper hand in negotiations.

(With files from Bloomberg)