Comex copper hits $6.7045 per pound

Comex copper hit a new U.S. record on August 5, when the September contract touched $6.7045 a pound in New York trading. MINING.COM reported the move pushed the most-active contract past its prior intraday peak of $6.69 set in mid-May and put the equivalent price at about $14,781 a tonne. The rally came in the U.S. benchmark market rather than London, where copper also rose but remained below its January record. CME Group lists copper futures as the main U.S. benchmark contract, quoted in dollars and cents per pound, with each futures contract covering 25,000 pounds. ### Why did New York copper set a record on August 5? U.S. tariff uncertainty was at the center of the move. (mining.com) MINING.COM said bets on possible U.S. import duties kept drawing copper into the country even as supply conditions outside the United States deteriorated. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had faced a June 30 deadline to recommend whether refined copper imports should face phased duties starting at 15% in January 2027 and rising to 30% the following year, according to MINING.COM. (cmegroup.com) The same report said the administration was also considering whether to extend existing 50% tariffs on semi-finished copper products to raw metal. (mining.com) ### What does “tariff-driven hoarding” mean in this market? More than 200,000 tonnes of copper arrived at U.S. ports in July, the largest monthly inflow since IHS Markit records began in 2014, MINING.COM reported. The publication said Comex inventories are up more than 40% this year to record levels and estimated total U.S. holdings, including private storage at ports, at well above 1 million tonnes. (mining.com) Michael Cuoco, head of metals at StoneX Financial, told MINING.COM that “the tariff arbitrage is ruling the roost over demand growth.” That description points to traders and industrial buyers trying to bring metal into the United States before any duty decision raises the cost of future imports. ### How tight is supply outside the United States? (mining.com) London copper touched $14,050 a tonne on August 5 after topping $14,000 the previous day for the first time in two months, MINING.COM said. The report added that the London Metal Exchange cash market had flipped into backwardation, with cash copper trading more than $100 a tonne above three-month metal, the widest premium since January. (mining.com) The same report said New York copper was trading about $640 a tonne above London prices after the premium averaged more than $350 in July. That spread underscored how U.S.-specific trade policy was separating Comex from the wider global market. ### What supply disruptions were traders watching? The Strait of Hormuz and sulphuric acid supplies were part of the backdrop. (mining.com) MINING.COM reported that the strait’s closure had knocked out around half of seaborne sulphur shipments from the Gulf and, combined with China’s export ban running through December, had removed roughly a quarter of global sulphuric acid supplies. Sulphuric acid is used in the SX-EW process that accounts for more than 15% of world copper output, the report said. That meant the August 5 price spike was not only a tariff trade. It also reflected concern that metal available outside the United States could stay tight even if shipping conditions improved. That is an inference from the supply and inventory data reported by MINING.COM. ### Where can traders watch the next move? (mining.com) CME Group’s copper futures page showed the U.S. benchmark still active on August 6, with the front screen displaying updated morning prices and contract specifications. The exchange says copper futures trade nearly around the clock on Globex and remain quoted in U.S. dollars and cents per pound. The next formal marker for this market is any U.S. administration decision on copper import duties, after the June 30 recommendation deadline passed without an announcement, according to MINING.COM. (mining.com) Until then, traders can track Comex price action, inventory levels and the New York-London premium on CME and daily market reporting. (cmegroup.com)