Copper Prices Soar to Record High on US Tariffs and Supply Shifts
Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) have surged to a new record high of $14,533 per tonne. This increase comes amid expectations of US tariffs on copper, which has stimulated record volumes of seaborne metal shipments to US warehouses.
According to Bloomberg, copper has risen by 17% since the beginning of the year and by 47% over the past 12 months. The metal is used in various industries, including construction, data centers, power grids, and industrial electrification.
Market participants are attributing the price increase to a shortage of metal in specific regions rather than a global shortage of copper overall. Jeff Currie, co-chair of Abaxx Markets and former head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs, believes that inventories concentrated in certain locations cannot promptly meet the needs of other markets.
Adam Gillard, managing director of commodities sales at Goldman, estimates that excess US imports since the beginning of the year have reached 730,000 tonnes. He also noted that imports in August could have amounted to 200,000 tonnes, while 77,000 tonnes were already being tracked at the beginning of September.