On the London Metal Exchange (LME), the price of copper futures for delivery in three months (the benchmark contract) reached $13,767 per ton. This development continues the strong upward trend of the market, bringing the total increase in copper prices since the beginning of 2026 to approximately 10%.
According to experts, this escalation is driven by several factors, including US tariffs, supply disruptions, and concerns about a global copper shortage.
Earlier in December 2025, copper prices surpassed $12,000 per ton for the first time, an increase of more than a third compared to the beginning of the year. This was the largest annual increase in copper prices since 2009, the year when the price of this base metal surged by more than 140% following the global financial crisis.
According to the Financial Times, analysts predict that copper demand will exceed supply from mines throughout the period from now until the 2030s, and copper prices could remain high next year.
The demand for copper is increasing due to the world 's shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, as well as the electrification of transportation and the boom in the construction of data centers serving artificial intelligence (AI). However, the output of existing copper mines is declining, and bringing new mines into operation requires significant costs and long timeframes.
Experts added that the sharp rise in copper prices this year is the result of a "perfect storm" of converging factors, including easing US-China trade tensions, Russia-Ukraine peace talks, and the impact of US tariffs.
The "new star" of the metals market: Copper prices peak, forecast to rise further (Photo: IT).
In 2025, the market witnessed a large influx of copper into the US, as importers rushed to buy copper before the Trump administration imposed tariffs on it. Recently, concerns about tariffs on refined copper have further fueled copper stockpiling in the US.
In a surprise to the market, the copper tariffs imposed by the Trump administration exempted refined copper. However, copper prices on Comex are still higher than those in London, reflecting concerns that the US government may impose tariffs on refined copper next year, according to experts.
Analyst Albert Mackenzie at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence believes the market is reacting to "optimistic sentiment and supply concerns" as copper is being shipped into the US in large quantities to "get ahead" of tariffs.
Copper inventories at Comex (US) warehouses have risen to a record high of over 400,000 tonnes, while inventories on the global LME network have fallen significantly this year, with LME copper inventories in Europe dropping below 20,000 tonnes.
Conversely, the latest data shows that as of the end of November, 85% of the copper in LME inventories originated from China, making it ineligible for delivery to US Comex facilities.
Alice Fox, a commodities strategist at Macquarie Group, forecasts that copper prices will remain high in 2026, despite slowing demand growth in China – the world's largest copper consumer.
Besides copper, another metal, aluminum, has also just set its highest price in the past three years.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/sau-bac-den-luot-gia-dong-dat-dinh-20260201110735487.htm
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