Copper Prices Pause Near Record Highs Amid Inflation Concerns
Copper prices paused near record highs on Wednesday after four consecutive sessions of gains pushed the metal above all-time records in New York and London.
The escalating conflict in the Middle East has revived concerns about inflation ahead of Friday's US consumer price data, with Brent crude prices surpassing $100 a barrel.
Comex copper for December delivery, the most active contract, rose 0.5% to $6.8545 a pound (about $15,110 a tonne) after touching $6.8730 on Tuesday, the highest ever for a Comex contract and above the $6.7775 peak set by the September contract on August 26.
Total exchange stocks of copper are up 33% this year, but the split has inverted: Comex holdings have grown 53% in 2026 while Shanghai's have fallen 57%. 'There's plenty of physical copper in the world, but it's all in the United States,' said John Meyer of SP Angel.
High prices are pulling marginal metal back into production, with Collahuasi restarting its mothballed SX-EW plant and Capstone Copper ramping up oxide leaching at Mantoverde. The ICSG projects a 96,000-tonne refined surplus for 2026, but Morgan Stanley now expects mine supply to be flat to slightly lower.