Copper scales highest since mid-May as US inventory builds up amid tariff uncertainty

Copper rose to a fresh 12-week high on Thursday as tariff uncertainty continued to pull greater quantities of the metal into the United States.

Benchmark three-month copper on the LME nudged 0.08% lower at $14,099.50 a metric ton as of 0325 GMT, after touching $14,178 in early trade, the highest since May 13.

The most-active copper contract on SHFE was up 0.38% at 107,580 yuan ($15,944.39) a ton, after briefly touching the highest since May 14 at 108,030 yuan.

The premium for the LME cash copper contract over the three-month contract widened to as much as $117.50 a ton on Thursday, signalling tightening near-term supply.

Copper has been drawn towards the United States for months as uncertainty over potential import tariffs keeps prices on the US COMEX exchange above the London benchmark.

The front-month COMEX copper contract touched a record high on Wednesday, maintaining a wide premium over LME copper.

COMEX inventories increased to 720,140 short tons (653,300 tons) as of Wednesday.

Copper holds above USD14,000 per metric ton

Stocks held in warehouses monitored by the LME and the Shanghai Futures Exchange, meanwhile, have continued to decline.

StoneX Senior Metals Demand Analyst Natalie Scott-Gray estimated in a weekly update that at least 1.2 million metric tons of copper had entered the United States since a Section 232 investigation into copper imports was ordered in February 2025.

About 64% of globally visible copper inventories are now held in the United States, Scott-Gray added. On the mine-supply side, the suspension of an expansion project at Chilean state miner Codelco’s flagship El Teniente mine could last for as long as two years, union leader Amador Pantoja said on Wednesday.

Codelco said on Tuesday that it had paused the project to develop the Andes Norte section of the underground mine after recent studies identified greater seismic risks than initially estimated.

Broader market sentiment remained sensitive to developments in the Middle East. Brent crude futures nudged lower – the oil benchmark has plunged over 12% this week.

Among other base metals on the LME, aluminium ticked 0.12% higher, zinc was little changed, lead nudged 0.11% higher, nickel slid 1.95%, and tin fell 0.94%.

Elsewhere on SHFE, aluminium gained 0.17%, zinc climbed 1.33%, lead was unchanged, nickel plunged 2.16%, and tin added 0.26%.