Copper Soars to New Record Highs Amid Tight Supply and Tariff Fears
Copper prices surged to new record highs on the London Metal Exchange (LME) due to tight supply and tariff worries. The industrial metal reached an all-time peak of $14,617 a ton for a second consecutive session. Tight near-term supplies and expectations that the US will impose tariffs on refined metal imports have buoyed copper prices.
The price of copper has risen around 17% this year, supported by a long-term mismatch between constrained mine supply and growing demand from data centers, renewable energy equipment, and power grids. Shorter-term tightness has been amplified by a massive shift of refined copper toward the US to capture higher prices due to tariff prospects.
Demand in China, the world's biggest copper consumer, is expected to pick up as the market enters its traditional peak season for manufacturing. Inventories in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses have fallen to their lowest since 2024 last week. This has triggered a severe squeeze on copper supplies and kept the futures curve in steep backwardation.
Jia Zheng, a trading manager at Suzhou Chuangyuan Harmony-Win Capital Management Co., said that it should be easy for copper prices to reach $15,000 due to strong orders from State Grid Corp. of China.