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Copper hits a fresh New York record before slipping on easing squeeze
Comex copper for September fell 1.6% to $6.6070 a pound after touching $6.7775, while inventories at Comex remain at a record above 675,000 tonnes.
Copper prices in New York set another all time high early Wednesday before giving back gains later in the session, as signs that the London market squeeze is easing triggered profit taking. Comex copper for September delivery touched $6.7775 a pound, about $14,940 a tonne, then slipped 1.6% to $6.6070 by late morning, after Tuesday’s settlement of $6.7140, also the contract’s highest ever, according to Mining.com.
In London, the three month contract traded around $14,350 a tonne by 1:03 p.m. local time, little changed after a 0.6% rise earlier in the day. Tuesday’s close was its highest on record, though the metal remained below the all time intraday peak of $14,527.50 set in January.
The squeeze relief showed up in LME spreads, which had widened last week as cash metal fetched more than $500 a tonne over three month futures, but the gap has partially unwound. Still, nearer dated tightness persisted, with the exchange’s September contract trading about $100 a tonne above October, after being under $50 at the end of last week, a sign that prompt delivery is still hard to find.
On the physical market, the first half of the year saw setbacks that took about 338,000 tonnes of global production offline, including issues in Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile, per consultancy Project Blue as cited by Mining.com. The report also pointed to LME warehouse withdrawals of more than 50,000 tonnes on Monday and falling on warrant stocks in Shanghai, while Comex inventories sit at a record above 675,000 tonnes after 46 straight daily builds as the market awaits Washington’s copper tariff decision.
Latest closeCopper $6.606 ▲0.2%