Copper sets record high as top Chinese smelters plan to cut output

SHANGHAI: Copper touched new peaks on Monday after top Chinese smelters agreed to a plan to cut output in 2026 and on record-high premium offers by Codelco, the world’s biggest copper producing company.

The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange surged 2.08% to 89,020 yuan ($12,583.40) per metric ton as of 0230 GMT, after setting a record high at 89,650 yuan.

The benchmark three month copper on the London Metal Exchange, meanwhile, also climbed to a new all-time high of$11,294.5 a ton, after setting a record high on Friday.

The London copper contract was up 0.24% to $11,216 a ton as of 0230 GMT.

The China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT), a group of the largest Chinese copper smelters, said on Friday that its members have agreed to cut production by more than 10% in 2026 in a bid to combat negative copper concentrate processing fees.

Traders are also positioning themselves after bullish headlines from last week’s Asia Copper Week 2025 in Shanghai.

Chile’s Codelco, the world’s top copper producer, sought a dramatic hike in copper premiums to Chinese buyers, as high as $350 a ton during the week, a level many saw as no longer relevant for Chinese participants, suggesting little spillover into copper supply-demand dynamics locally.

Offers for Codelco’s United States clients also saw a surge above $500 a ton, according to sources, participants saw the Codelco premiums as designed for those who have access to the Comex exchange to profit from the Comex-LME arbitrage amid tariff uncertainties.

Rising optimism of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December also helped copper to set new peaks, as greater economic activity is associated with higher demand for copper.

The US Dollar continued to soften, supporting the market by making commodities traded with the greenback cheaper for investors using other currencies.

Among other SHFE base metals, aluminium rose 1.44%, zinc added 0.78%, nickel was up 0.26%, tin surged 2.68%, and lead was little changed.

Elsewhere among LME metals, aluminium was up 0.21%, zinc ticked 0.13% higher, nickel gained 0.34%, tin rose 1.08%.

The London lead also posted little changed.