{
  "id": 1995753,
  "title": "Copper Backwardation Collapses After 20,000 Tons Hit LME Warehouses",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/copper-backwardation-collapses-after-20-000-tons-hit-lme-warehouses",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-19T19:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Copper-Backwardation-Collapses-After-20000-Tons-Hit-LME-Warehouses.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Trafigura and other traders delivered over 20,000 tons of copper into London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses on Tuesday, ending a week-long copper backwardation squeeze. Copper prices settled at a $248-a-ton backwardation, down from the $545 peak on Monday, the widest since 2021. Trafigura contributed significantly to the metal placed on warrant, and traders anticipate more deliveries in the coming days. The decision to store metal in warehouses and buy it back three months later became more profitable than shipping cathode to the U.S. and waiting for a tariff ruling. Copper's supply chain issues, including reduced production in Chile, Freeport's Gresik smelter shutdown, and China's ban on concentrate exports, cannot be resolved by warrant movements in warehouses. The COMEX-LME spread has become a gauge of U.S. tariff expectations, according to ING commodities strategist Ewa Manthey. The COMEX-LME spread, which increased in significance, fell as copper prices dropped 1.2% to $13,986.50 a ton. Chinese buyers have started to back away as copper prices rise, with Shanghai inventories growing toward 80,000 tons over the past several weeks. The last Wednesday of the month often sees the largest number of copper swaps, with a substantial portion of LME liquidity concentrated. The upcoming expiry on Wednesday will reveal whether the previous week's activity was primarily due to short covering or genuine metal scarcity in the market.",
  "summary": "Trafigura Group and several other traders delivered more than 20,000 tons of copper into LME warehouses on Tuesday, the biggest one-day build in on-warrant stock since April, and the squeeze that had gripped the London market for the past week came apart. The cash-to-three-month spread settled at a $248-a-ton backwardation, down from as much as $545 on Monday, which was the widest since 2021.…",
  "key_points": [
    "20,000 tons of copper delivered to LME warehouses on Tuesday",
    "Copper prices settle at $248-a-ton backwardation, down from $545"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}