RE: Copper30 Oct 2025 08:11
Copper prices hit a new record high on the London Metal Exchange, driven by a combination of supply disruptions from mine accidents and a more optimistic global economic outlook.
Threats of tariffs from the Trump Administration, a recent thaw in US-China trade relations, and anticipated interest rate cuts from the Fed have all contributed to increased demand and higher copper prices.
Experts attribute the sustained rally to emerging physical market tightness and a robust demand outlook, particularly from surging power needs for AI data centers and the global energy transition.
Copper
Copper prices hit a record-high on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday amid a series of supply disruptions and brighter global economic prospects.
The benchmark three-month copper futures jumped to $11,146 per ton in London early on Wednesday, exceeding the previous record high of $11,104 a ton set in May last year.
This year, copper prices have rallied amid threats from the Trump Administration to impose tariffs on the industrial metal crucial for electrification and grid expansion. Trump backed off plans for a tariff, for now, but traders are nevertheless amassing copper into the U.S., which has hiked copper prices at the Comex exchange in New York and shrunk supply elsewhere in the world.
On the supply side, several accidents at mines in Chile and Indonesia earlier this year have reduced global copper production and tightened the physical market.
The copper demand outlook, on the other hand, has received some bullish news recently.
The most recent thaw in the U.S.-China trade spat, ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting on Thursday, has rekindled hopes that a potential trade deal could reinvigorate the two biggest economies in the world and lift demand for copper. The price of the metal, which is used in industry, electronics, electrification, and construction, is often viewed as a gauge of economic health.
Moreover, the market expects another interest rate cut from the Fed this week, which could also spur the economy and copper demand.
Today’s record-high copper price in London is “supported by the powerful combination of a U.S.–China deal boosting growth expectations and ongoing supply disruptions at major mines,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said on Wednesday.
“Prices remain underpinned by signs of emerging physical tightness and a robust demand outlook, driven by surging power needs and copper’s critical role as the primary conductor for AI data centers, cooling, and the global energy transition.”
Sign In
Follow the stocks
