NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 06:40 ET
- Benchmark LME copper hit a record $12,960 a metric ton before easing back in holiday-thinned trade.
- Prices in Shanghai and New York set records while London was shut, with a U.S. tariff review next year pulling metal toward U.S. warehouses.
- China’s copper contract touched a record after news Beijing would rein in copper capacity growth in its next five-year plan.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange jumped to a record $12,960 a metric ton on Monday before paring gains to $12,415, up 2.1%, by 1030 GMT, as London trading resumed after a UK holiday.
The London market raced to catch up after being shut on Friday for Britain’s Boxing Day holiday, while copper in China and the United States rallied.
The sharp move matters for manufacturers because copper is used widely in wiring and industrial equipment and is a core input for power grids and renewable-energy infrastructure.
Analysts and traders have also pointed to trade dislocations linked to possible U.S. import tariffs, which have encouraged shipments of metal into the United States and tightened supply elsewhere.
“Comex led on Boxing Day,” said Robert Montefusco at broker Sucden Financial, referring to the U.S. copper market’s rally while London was closed. Business Recorder
U.S. Comex copper futures jumped to $5.8395 per lb on Friday, surpassing a record touched on July 23 when a planned date for U.S. tariffs approached, Reuters reported.
Reuters said U.S. tariffs imposed this year did not affect refined copper, but the decision will be revisited next year, prompting a fresh flow of copper into the United States to capture higher prices there.
That stock build has tightened markets elsewhere, while mine disruptions have led many analysts to forecast copper deficits next year, Reuters reported.
Copper on the LME is up about 41% for the year, supported by worries about shortages, a weaker dollar and a broader “risk-on” mood — stronger appetite for risk — across markets, according to Reuters. Business Recorder
The Financial Times reported copper is on track for its largest annual rise in more than a decade, after prices pushed above $12,000 a ton in December as the year-end rally intensified.
Demand is rising with the build-out of wind and solar power, electrification of vehicles and a boom in data centers that power artificial intelligence, while ageing mines are becoming less productive and new mines are costly and slow to develop, the Financial Times said.
The newspaper also said sustained high prices could push some manufacturers toward cheaper substitutes and hit less essential demand such as decarbonisation — cutting carbon emissions.
Copper stocks in Comex warehouses have reached a record 400,000 tonnes, while LME inventories have fallen, especially in Europe, the Financial Times reported, highlighting how the U.S. draw has reshaped physical supply.
Bloomberg said copper has gained more than 15% in December as investors bet a rush to get metal into the United States ahead of possible import tariffs will force buyers elsewhere to pay more.
In China, the most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange touched a record 102,660 yuan a ton and ended daytime trading at 98,860 yuan ($14,105.33), up 0.8%, after news China would rein in copper capacity growth in its next five-year plan, Reuters reported.
Other base metals mostly rose, with LME aluminium edging up to $2,963.50 a ton and zinc gaining to $3,112, while tin slipped to $42,600, Reuters said.
A Forex.com note dated Dec. 28 flagged copper as a trade to watch for 2026, as the market looks ahead to next year’s tariff decisions and an increasingly tight supply picture.
