He copper approached $11,000 per ton this Friday due to persistent concerns about supply shortages and renewed optimism about US-China trade talks.
The three-month reference copper in the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 1% to $10,960. It had previously touched $10,979.50, its highest level since October 9, when it hit a 16-month high of $11,000.
The metal goes heading towards a historic closure and record a weekly improvement of 3.3 percent.
“I think copper will continue to rise…simply because there is a shortage developing as a result of the Grasberg mudslide and the continued need for copper, particularly in China, but also around the world,” said SP analyst Angel John Meyer.
Freeport’s Grasberg mine in Indonesia has been closed since the September 8 incident, while the Chilean mining company Antofagasta said on Thursday it expects its 2025 copper production to be at the lower end of its forecast of 660,000 to 700,000 tonnes.
LME copper stocks, at 136,350 tonnes, hit their lowest level since late July. According to Meyer, copper could suffer a similar squeeze to zinc this week, as Chinese smelters operating in the London-Shanghai arbitrage risk being trapped by a lack of physical metal.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavittconfirmed that the American president, donald trumpwill meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinpingon Thursday in South Korea.
Among other base metals, aluminum It fell 0.2%, to $2,856 per ton, after touching $2,883.5, its highest since May 2022; zinc it added 0.2%, to 3,020.5 dollars; the lead it advanced 0.3%, to $2,015; while the nickel and tin They rose 0.1% each, to $15,360 and $35,670, respectively.
