Copper reaches $11,000 a tonne as investors bet on shortages

Copper hit $11,000 a tonne on Thursday, a milestone not seen for 16 months as investors piled into the metal after a series of mine supply disruptions sparked fears of shortages, while aluminum hit a more than three-year high.

The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 3.1% to hit the $11,000 mark, putting it within striking distance of its all-time high of $11,104.50 set in May 2024. It fell to $10,901 as of 1355 GMT.

Investors in China, the largest metal consumer, returned to the market on Thursday after a week-long holiday.

Alastair Munro, senior metals strategist at brokerage Marex, said speculative Western money had flowed into copper around the end of the third quarter after Freeport declared force majeure at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia.

“Today, overnight, China made the bid and their spec community has now joined that Western bid,” Munro said, noting that some profit-taking had now begun.

Total copper inventories in the LME storage system are at 139,475 tonnes, the lowest since late July, while the discount for the spot copper contract to the three-month contract fell to $5.80 per tonne from $29.50 on Wednesday, indicating tighter availability in the near term. “If there is any expectation that Grasberg will come back sooner than people have been told in recent weeks, Copper would take a hit,” said Panmure Liberum analyst Tom Price. The power of copper moved the base metal complex higher. Aluminum rose as much as 2% to $2,807.50, its highest level since June 2022, before falling to $2,800. Marex’s positioning estimates show the largest speculative long in LME aluminum since June 2024.

Zinc rose 1.4% to $3,047, after previously rising as much as 2.5% to $3,080, its highest level since December 2024. Nickel rose 1.3% to $15,545, lead rose 1.2% to $2,026, and tin rose 1.5% to $36,920.