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Copper prices hold near record as London warehouse squeeze deepens
LME stockpiles fell for a 42nd straight day to 204,975 tonnes, with nearly half earmarked for withdrawal.
The London copper market squeeze intensified as spot contracts widened to their steepest premiums over later-dated futures in five years, signaling tighter deliverable metal in exchange warehouses, Mining.com reported. The August LME contract traded at a premium of as much as $370 a tonne over September futures, the widest one-month spread since the 2021 squeeze that prompted emergency intervention.
The cash to three-month spread rose to $434 a tonne, also a five-year high, while cash copper changed hands near a record of about $14,500 a tonne. The benchmark three-month contract was above $14,100, up nearly 14% in 2026, after setting an all-time peak above $14,500 in January, the outlet added.
In New York, Comex copper for September delivery was little changed at $6.59 a pound, about $14,500 a tonne, roughly $400 over the LME three-month price and near Wednesday’s record. LME stockpiles declined for a 42nd consecutive day to 204,975 tonnes, the longest run of declines since 2014, and nearly half of remaining inventories are already earmarked for withdrawal.
Mining.com also linked the drawdown to traders shipping metal to the US ahead of possible tariffs on refined copper and to China, where smelters are cutting output due to tight feedstock after the Democratic Republic of Congo banned concentrate exports. BMI raised its 2026 outlook, now expecting the full-year average near $13,500 a tonne versus $12,700 previously, saying tariff decisions remain the most immediate price catalyst while longer-term fundamentals stay broadly supportive.
Latest closeCopper $6.606 ▲0.2%