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Copper trades near record highs as tariffs spur U.S. stockpiling
Comex copper topped $6.72 per pound in late August, while analysts at CRU say non-U.S. supply has tightened to a balanced or even deficit scenario if the rerouting continues.
Copper prices are holding near record highs as tariff-driven stockpiling in the United States intersects with structurally stronger demand from AI-related data centers, according to MarketBeat Ratings.
The outlet said Comex copper reached a fresh all-time high above $6.72 per pound in late August and remained close to those levels into September. It attributes the move first to Washingtons 50% Section 232 tariff on certain semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivatives in 2025, which was later expanded in April 2026, while refined cathode is largely exempt for now.
Because copper placed in bonded U.S. warehouses can be difficult to move back into global flows, the stockpiling has drained supply from outside the United States, and CRU analysts now describe the non-U.S. market as balanced at best, with a potential deficit if the flows persist.
A second driver is demand from data centers. MarketBeat Ratings said hyperscalers need copper wiring, bus bars, and cooling infrastructure regardless of price, supporting additional demand from grid modernization and electrification, and it highlighted Freeport-McMoRan as a key U.S.-listed proxy that has risen from the low $40s a year ago to the mid-$70s.
Latest closeCopper $6.606 ▲1.5%