Copper prices in New York reached a new record high on Thursday. September Comex copper futures peaked at $6.7270 per pound, surpassing the previous record set earlier this month.
Robust U.S. demand and anticipated import tariffs drove the price surge. Traders are pulling significant volumes of the metal into American warehouses to get ahead of trade policy changes.
Over 65,000 metric tons of copper are currently scheduled for withdrawal from London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses. Much of this supply is expected to move to the United States. This movement challenges previous forecasts of a global copper surplus for 2026.
The market may now shift toward a balanced state or a supply deficit. Copper destined for the U.S. now carries a significant premium over LME prices. These shifts impact industrial companies tracked by the XLB and IYM ETFs.