Copper hits record high on weak supply outside US

LONDON: Copper prices extended their rally on Tuesday, hitting a record peak on speculative buying on the back of tight supply outside of the U.S. and weak mine output.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.3% to $14,703 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading, surpassing the previous record set on Monday.

LME copper has gained 18% this year, largely due to a large flow of metal moving to the U.S. in anticipation of tariffs being imposed there on refined copper.

Falling inventories outside the U.S., including in China, were driving the gains, said Alice Fox, analyst at Macquarie.

“This is being amplified by supply concerns given the recent storms in Chile and some downward guidance revisions, the re-escalation of the situation in the Middle East reigniting concerns over costs and acid availability, and the continuing bullish narrative about demand for data centres.”

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose as much as 1.5% to 110,890 yuan, its highest since January 30.

In the U.S., COMEX inventories swelled to a record 766,795 short tons, or 695,624 metric tons, as of last Friday, ahead of Monday’s U.S. holiday.

“The still-elevated COMEX-LME price spread suggests physical copper continues to flow into the United States, deepening the supply tightness in markets outside the U.S.,” an analyst at Chinese broker Everbright Futures said.

Copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses have shed nearly 40% since late May, while SHFE inventories stood at around 63,000 tons last week, down 85% from a mid-March peak and the lowest since January 2024.

Zinc also rallied, with LME zinc up 0.5% in official activity at $4,002 a ton, after touching $4,035, its highest in more than four years.

Among other LME metals, aluminium added 0.2% to $3,318.50 a ton, lead rose 0.2% to $1,904, nickel gained 0.5% to $16,805 and tin edged up 0.1% at

$55,175.