London Copper Hits Record High Amid Tariff-Induced Arbitrage

Copper prices have surged to a record high on the London Metal Exchange (LME), reaching $14,533 per metric ton in intraday trading on Monday. This surpasses the previous record set in January and marks a 47% cumulative gain over the past 12 months.

The driving force behind this rally is not a recovery in manufacturing activity, but rather a double squeeze from cross-market arbitrage amid U.S. tariff policy uncertainty and persistently deteriorating global mine supply.

Cristián Cifuentes, a senior analyst at Chilean copper think tank Cesco, notes that this rally is 'driven more by tariff-induced metal relocation than by robust end-demand,' describing it as 'a regional shortage, not a global demand surplus.'