US copper futures climbed above $6.61 per pound, remaining close to the record high of $6.80 reached a month earlier, amid escalating threats to global supply and sustained speculative demand. The prospect of import tariffs on unprocessed copper products spurred a wave of front-loaded purchases, driving a sharp widening in prompt spreads across major Western exchanges. Earlier warnings of potential US duties had already encouraged traders to divert shipments into American warehouses, reinforcing the recent price rally.
On the supply side, a strike at Antofagasta’s Centinela mine is expected to begin curbing production at one of the world’s largest copper operations in the second half of October. On the demand side, robust orders for data centers, semiconductor development, and battery storage facilities serving AI infrastructure and electric vehicles in Asia continued to underpin the bullish outlook for copper. Additional near-term buying emerged in China as manufacturers returned from holidays with relatively low inventories.
