Copper prices have moved nearer to record highs due to persistent supply worries and increased US imports ahead of possible tariffs. Comex Copper inventories set a new record after 42 consecutive weeks of growth, though they are still below total warehouse capacity.<\/p>\n
These conditions have resulted in tight market situations outside the US. The rise in copper prices comes as the US continues to import substantial volumes, amid market anticipation of future trade tariffs.<\/p>\n
We’re observing a significant divergence between the US and global copper markets, driven by American firms stockpiling ahead of the announced Q2 tariffs. Looking back at data from late 2025, this trend created a record build-up in Comex inventories, which now stand at over 120,000 tons. This has created an unusual price spread between the London Metal Exchange (LME) and Comex futures contracts.<\/p>\n
This tightness outside the US is being made worse by the stalled labor negotiations at several key mines in Peru, a situation that began developing last quarter. We’ve seen LME-registered warehouse inventories fall below 70,000 tonnes this month, a multi-year low that is supporting elevated global prices. This is in sharp contrast to the stockpiling we tracked in the US throughout the second half of 2025.<\/p>\n
Given this backdrop, we believe long positions in LME March copper call options are favorable to capture further upside from the global supply deficit. The CBOE Copper VIX, a measure of expected volatility, has risen over 18% since December, suggesting that option premiums are high but justified. This environment favors strategies that profit from continued price increases and uncertainty in the global supply chain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Copper prices near record highs amid supply concerns and rising US imports ahead of potential trade tariffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t