Copper Prices Stall Below Record Levels Amid Inventory Shifts and Rising Costs

Copper prices have stalled just below record levels at around $6.85 per pound ($15,110 per ton), according to recent data from Comex and LME exchanges.

The price of copper has been trading in this range since hitting an all-time high of $6.8730 per pound earlier this year, with exchange inventories shifting significantly into US Comex warehouses.

China's August imports fell to 382,000 tons, their weakest August in six years, while the US refined copper imports hit a record 225,094 tons in July amid uncertainty over proposed tariffs from 2027.

High prices have revived SX-EW capacity at Collahuasi and Mantoverde mines, despite rising costs due to increased sulphuric acid prices.