LONDON — The price of copper on the London Metal Exchange rose to a record intraday high of $11,210.50 per metric ton on Friday, with its benchmark three-month contract briefly rising by about 2.5 percent and topping an earlier peak around $11,200 set late in October, according to data reported by Reuters. With the U.S. dollar softening and Chile’s October output plummeting to less than half of what it was a year earlier because of months of protests by mine workers, the rally underscored how rapidly tightening supply can reprice a metal that underlies the global shift toward cleaner energy: Nov. 29, 2025.
Why the copper price just set a new record
Chile, the giant copper producer, said that mine production in October fell by 7% to 458,405 metric tons from a year earlier; that reduced tonnage takes thousands of tonnes out of an already tight market and fuels the newly erupted price spike, official figures carried by Reuters showed.
On the processing side, China’s top smelters have reached an arrangement through the China Smelters Purchase Team to reduce output next year after treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) turned negative, effectively making them pay miners to take their concentrate. That decision is forecast to cut refined supply just as LME prices reach all-time highs, industry reporting by Mining says.
Those supply constraints are meeting friendlier macro conditions. Un dollar moins fort et des attentes croissantes de nouvelles baisses des taux d’intérêt aux États-Unis ont incité les fonds à se tourner à nouveau vers les métaux industriels, ce qui a amplifié le mouvement. In a recent note, Finimize pointed out that while LME copper futures not only popped above $11,200 a ton this week but also flipped into steep backwardation — a classic sign that buyers want to pay up now for immediate delivery as nearby supply tightens.
A record copper price after years of strain
The record copper price today is the latest milestone in a rally that has been more than a decade in the making. In 2011, demand rebounding post-crisis and a deepening supply deficit pushed the price of copper above $10,000 a ton for the first time, on its way to then-record highs; that account was recounted by analysts in an overview of what had gone on in InvestingNews’s market dynamics review for that year.
A decade later, in April 2021, the price of copper rose above $10,000 a ton on the LME as economies around the world reopened after the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic and mines struggled to meet demand, according to Mining Coverage.com. In more recent times, the market reached a then-record peak of about $11,200 a ton in late October 2025, as global supply tightened and AI-driven data centers, power-grid upgrades, and clean-energy projects sent demand soaring to new highs, according to Business Insider. Friday’s fresh high at $11,210.50 builds on that trend and shows that the underlying squeeze has only grown tighter.
What the record copper price is saying about the real economy
Some analysts are becoming more vocal about the possibility that this is not yet the final leg of the rally. Analysts at J.P. Morgan now forecast that copper prices will average well above current levels in 2026, as a multi-year supply deficit emerges amid electrification, AI infrastructure, and grid reinforcement outpacing new mine permits and construction schedules.
For miners, a lasting price in or close to record territory for copper would yield strong cash flow and unlock long-delayed projects, but risk even greater scrutiny of environmental impacts and community relations in key producing countries such as Chile and Peru. For manufacturers — from cable producers to automakers and appliance companies — higher input costs put profitability at risk and could eventually be passed along in pricier homes, vehicles, and consumer electronics.
Market veterans warn that part of the recent surge is still supported by macro factors such as dollar weakness and expectations of rate cuts, which can turn on a dime. But with inventories low, mine production under pressure, and Chinese smelters reining in output after a year of painful margins, few are betting the copper market will feel easy anytime soon. Regardless of whether prices consolidate or rise further, the message from today’s record is clear: the world has not yet fully invested in the copper it needs for the energy transition.
