Copper price notches another record before retreating as squeeze eases

Copper reached a new record in New York on Wednesday before experiencing a decline, as indications of easing tension in the London market led to profit-taking. The Comex copper for September delivery hit $6.7775 a pound ($14,940 a tonne) in early trade, a fresh all-time high, before falling 1.6% to $6.6070 by late morning in New York.

Tuesday's settlement of $6.7140 was the contract's highest ever. In London, the three-month contract stood at $14,350 a tonne as of 1:03 p.m. local time, barely changed after a 0.6% rise earlier. Tuesday's close was the market's highest on record, though the metal was still short of the all-time intraday peak of $14,527.50 set in January.

The gap between cash metal and three-month futures in the London Metal Exchange (LME) has narrowed to $127, as tighter supplies persist outside the US ahead of Washington's tariff decision. Despite this, Comex inventories remain at a record above 675,000 tonnes following 46 consecutive daily builds, and metal continues to flow in as the market awaits the White House's copper tariff ruling, which has been pending for nearly two months.

"Underpinned by fundamentals," the mine side is not contributing its share to the price surge. The global market lost around 338,000 tonnes of production in the first half of the year due to issues in Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chile, as noted by consultancy Project Blue. This has led CRU to view its forecast of a 639,000-tonne global surplus for 2026 as at best balanced.

"If imports keep coming in as they have been, then it's going to look like a deficit market in reality," stated principal copper analyst Robert Edwards. Macquarie strategist Alice Fox believes the record Comex stockpile will take "years" to be exhausted.