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Copper hits record highs as LME inventories keep draining
LME warehouse stocks fell for 42 straight days through mid-August, leaving nearly half of remaining inventories earmarked for withdrawal, as disruptions at Indonesia's Grasberg mine continue to squeeze supply.
Copper prices are extending a run that began decades earlier, with benchmark contracts on the London Metal Exchange posting a 10th straight weekly gain through last Friday and trading near $14,300 a ton, close to the January record of $14,527.50, according to OilPrice.
On the Comex, copper prices topped $6.70 a pound in August for a fresh all-time high, driven by a tightening physical market as inventory drain persists. LME warehouse stocks fell for 42 straight days through mid-August, the longest stretch since 2014, and nearly half of what remains is already earmarked for withdrawal.
The report points to a supply shock that started nearly a year ago, when on Sept. 8, 2025, roughly 800,000 tons of wet material flooded Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg mine in Indonesia. The accident killed two workers, triggered a force majeure that is still working through the supply chain, and led Freeport to cut 2026 output guidance at the complex by roughly a third, with full recovery not expected until 2027 or 2028.
International Copper Study Group data cited by OilPrice show global mine output fell 1.1% in the first half of the year, with double-digit declines reported by both Codelco and Freeport. Chile, the top producer, logged its weakest second quarter in at least 19 years and has cut its 2026 forecast twice to a 2.6% decline, while Codelco's Andes Norte expansion at El Teniente is not due to reach production yet.
Latest closeCopper $6.606 ▲1.5%