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LME copper hits record above $14,000 on tight supply signals
Copper rose 1.7% to $14,396/t and the cash/3M spread widened to a backwardation of $518.5/t, highlighting near term supply tightness.
LME copper surged to a record high above $14,000 per tonne, extending a multi week rally as ING pointed to tightening supply conditions and market positioning. In its latest note, ING’s Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson cited a sharply backwardated cash versus 3 month spread as evidence of acute near term tightness.
The ING commentary said the price move was supported by falling LME inventories, weaker expectations for Chilean output, and strong speculative longs on COMEX. LME inventories fell for a 42nd consecutive session to 204,975 tonnes, the lowest level since February, and ING noted that nearly half of remaining stock is already earmarked for withdrawal.
On the supply side, ING referenced expectations from Chile’s copper commission Cochilco that national copper output will drop 2.6% year on year to 5.3 million tonnes in 2026, reflecting weaker production from operators including Codelco and BHP operations. ING also said copper is up around 16% year to date.
Latest closeCopper $6.606 ▲0.2%