Copper prices hit a record high of more than US$14,000 a metric ton on Thursday, as speculators extended their buying spree, encouraged by expectations of strong demand and supported by a weak dollar and geopolitical concerns.

They ignored warnings by some analysts that high prices would chill physical demand by industrial consumers and was not being supported by current supply/demand fundamentals.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange jumped 7.9% to an all-time high of US$14,125 a metric ton during Asian trading.

It pared gains to US$13,935 a tonne by 1050 GMT, a rise of 6.5%.

“Copper posted its biggest one-day gain in years… driven by intense speculative trading by bulls in China,” Neil Welsh at Britannia Global Markets said in a note.

“Investors are piling into base metals on expectations for stronger US growth and more global spending on data centres, robotics and power infrastructure.”

Copper, used in power and construction, is a key metal needed for the energy transition, but global exchange-monitored inventories are at high levels, especially in the US.

The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trading 6.7% higher at 109,110 yuan (US$15,708.77) a tonne, after setting a record of 110,970 yuan.

The gains came despite weak spot physical demand in the biggest consumer market China. The Yangshan copper premium, a gauge of Chinese demand for imported copper, declined to US$20 a tonne on Wednesday, the lowest since July 2024 and down from US$55 in December.

Source: Theedgemalaysia