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- LME Aluminum 3M Select trades $16.25 higher to $3268.50 at 8:54:56 AM
- LME Copper 3M Select trades $91.25 higher to $14251.50 at 8:54:55 AM
- (Bloomberg) – Copper rose toward a record on the London Metal Exchange, with soaring spreads highlighting an increasingly acute squeeze in near-term supply. The metal’s spot price traded as much as $545 a ton above three-month contracts, the widest backwardation since a historic squeeze in 2021 prompted the adoption of emergency measures to contain a runaway rally. Other spreads have also surged, and futures are closing in on a $14,500-plus peak reached during a spike in January. The current supply crunch is being fueled by a surge of shipments to the US in anticipation of a potential tariff decision, while recent tightness in China has also drawn cargoes there. That has led stockpiles in the LME’s global warehousing network to shrink by almost half since mid-May. Investors were already warming to the wiring metal, citing longer-term themes of robust demand powered by the energy transition toward electrification, the need to build data centers and infrastructure for artificial intelligence, as well as the mounting industry challenge of finding and funding new mining pits. The elevated premium for the near-term delivery of copper “points to continued scarcity of available metal,” said Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at ING Groep NV. “We expect these supply constraints to keep the market well supported in the near term, particularly if demand remains resilient.” Stockpiles tracked by the LME are currently just above 200,000 tons, the lowest volume since February. On Monday, they rose slightly after a 42-day run of declines, the longest since 2014. A quirk of the current situation is that total global inventories are not particularly low, just that they are concentrated in the US as traders bet on President Donald Trump slapping tariffs on the refined metal. In addition, demand in China is not seen as particularly strong, but smelters there have struggled with feedstock supplies, increasing the need for imports. The White House has kept the market guessing on plans for levies on refined copper, with no announcement emerging about seven weeks after a deadline for the Commerce Department to make a recommendation. Meanwhile, flows to the US have continued as markets price in a potential tariff. With the cash-to-three month spread spiking, attention is turning to whether more copper might emerge from China, which often happens during periods of short-term supply pinches.
- CME HRC Steel last traded at $1196 and $0 lower at 8/14/2026
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