Copper extended a powerful rally after bursting through US$13,000 (RM52,689) a ton for the first time, as investors bet on a tighter market.

Three-month futures surged as much as 2.2% to a record US$13,283 a ton in London on Tuesday, surpassing a peak set on Monday. Concerns that the Trump administration may introduce a tariff on refined metal have drawn holdings into the US, potentially leaving the rest of the world short.

“Inventories used to act as a buffer, but now they are locked in the US,” Li Xuezhi, the head of research at Chaos Ternary Futures Co, said by phone. “So the buffer is gone and everyone will have to scramble.”

Base metals have made a very strong start to 2026, with the LMEX Index that tracks the main six including copper surging to the highest level since March 2022, when the sector peaked. The red metal — used in wires and cables — has now racked up a gain of more than 20% since late November, while aluminium has rallied to the highest level in more than three years.

Trump has directed the Department of Commerce to deliver an update on US copper markets by the end of this coming June, at which point a decision on tariffs for refined metal is expected. The department had earlier proposed a 15% levy starting in 2027, rising to 30% in 2028, but the White House has not confirmed that timeline.

The volume of copper now stored in the US has ballooned, with volumes in Comex-tracked warehouses alone now at more than half a million short tons after 44 straight days of net inflows. The tonnage in London Metal Exchange (LME) sheds has nearly halved over the past year, but is still higher than a recent low in June.

Meanwhile, other LME metrics point to a tightening copper market. Cash prices are trading at a premium of about US$42 a ton over three-month futures — a backwardated structure that points to some near-term supply stress. On Comex, a discount of nearby futures over later contracts has widened in recent months.

Source: theedgemalaysia