LME Copper Hits Record High Amid Tariff-Driven Arbitrage and Supply Constraints

LME copper prices have hit an all-time high, driven primarily by market expectations that Trump will continue to expand tariffs on copper.

Copper futures on the New York Exchange have maintained a significant premium over London prices, triggering arbitrage activities that drove LME physical inventories down to critically low levels in August, sparking a major short squeeze.

Chile, the world's largest copper producer, saw its copper export revenue fall to a more-than-one-year low in August, raising the possibility of the first annual decline in global mine supply since 2017.