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Copper smashed a record $11,200 a ton as global supply strains intensify.
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Shortfalls at major miners and booming demand from the AI and clean-energy boom are supercharging prices.
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A looming 150,000-ton deficit next year is set to keep the pressure in copper markets.
Gold’s stunning rally has been dazzling all year, but it’s copper that just stole some of the spotlight.
On Wednesday, three-month copper futures on the London Metal Exchange, the global benchmark, hit a record $11,200 a metric ton — topping the previous high of $11,104.50 set in May 2024.
The red metal used in construction, electrical grids, and electronics, is up about 26% this year, standing out in the base metals complex.
Copper’s record run has been fueled by supply strains as major miners flag disruptions worldwide.
Those setbacks come as demand from the energy transition and AI infrastructure accelerates — a mix likely to push the market into deficit next year.
Earlier this week, British miner Anglo American warned of lower-than-expected production from its flagship Collahuasi plant in Chile.
Anglo-Swiss miner Glencore also cut its annual copper forecast after reporting lower output in the first nine months.
There have been major incidents at other big miners — including a landslide, flooding, and a mine collapse — in Indonesia, Congo, and Chile.
The International Copper Study Group, an intergovernmental body, now forecasts a 150,000-ton deficit next year, reversing a 178,000-ton surplus this year.
The latest developments cap a volatile year for the copper market.
Earlier in 2025, traders frontloaded copper shipments into the US in anticipation of new tariffs from President Donald Trump.
Months later, they were caught off guard when the administration exempted refined copper from those high import duties.
While the tariff risk has eased for now, higher US copper inventories in today’s supply-stretched environment mean buyers elsewhere are feeling the squeeze.
Also lifting prices are broader forces: a weaker dollar, which boosts dollar-denominated metals, and a resilient China, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
Optimism ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday has also lifted broader market sentiment.
Even with the bullish momentum, the outlook isn’t all clear skies.
“The risk of demand destruction shouldn’t be ignored, as Chinese buyers show signs of price sensitivity, which could put a ceiling on copper’s upside,” wrote Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey, commodity strategists at ING, on Thursday.
Read the original article on Business Insider