Copper Prices Hit Record High as Supplies Tighten Outside US

Copper prices have surged to a record high as traders focus on tight supplies outside of the US. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange reached $14,533 per metric ton, surpassing its previous all-time peak of $14,527.50 in January.

Traders and producers have been shipping large volumes of copper to the US since President Donald Trump first mooted import tariffs in February last year. The current Comex copper stocks stand at a record 766,795 short tons, or 695,624 metric tons.

'It's hard to know what will happen on tariffs, but the longer there is uncertainty, the longer prices will remain elevated as material flows to the US,' Albert Mackenzie of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence told Reuters.