Finance
Copper lurches to record high above $14,000 as speculators pile in
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 29, 2026
3 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 29, 2026
3 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
Copper prices hit record highs amid geopolitical risks and a weak dollar, with significant gains on the Shanghai and London exchanges.
By Eric Onstad
LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Copper prices spiked to a record high of more than $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.
In volatile swings, copper spiked in the biggest one-day jump in more than 15 years and then gave up much of the gains, while other metals surged before slipping into the red.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange jumped 11% to an all-time high of $14,527.50 a metric ton, before paring gains to $13,612.50 by 1700 GMT, a rise of 4%.
The bulls, mostly at speculative funds, 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, creating a dilemma for investors.
"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 U.S. 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 U.S.
The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trading 6.7% higher at 109,110 yuan ($15,708.77) a ton, 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 $20 a ton on Wednesday, the lowest since July 2024 and down from $55 in December.
Copper is also rising due to a spillover of interest for hard assets, which have sent gold and silver to records, partly due to geopolitical tensions, traders said.
Also supporting metals was a weaker dollar index, which was close to multi-year lows, making commodities priced in the U.S. currency cheaper for buyers using other currencies. [FRX/]
Other LME metals were also hit by erratic trading, with LME tin surging to another record high of $59,040 a ton, despite weak fundamentals, and then sinking 2.5% to $54,540.
LME aluminium climbed 3% to $3,356 a ton, the highest since April 2022, before retreating 1.1% to $3,222.
Zinc gained 1.4% to $3,412 a ton after hitting the strongest since August 2022. Lead dipped 0.3% to $2,012 and nickel was up 0.5% at $18,355, well down from an intraday high of $19,150.
($1 = 6.9458 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Arun KoyyurAdditional reporting by Lewis Jackson and Dylan Duan in China; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Tasim Zahid)
Copper is a reddish-brown metal used extensively in electrical wiring, plumbing, and as a material for various alloys. It is valued for its conductivity and resistance to corrosion.
A futures contract is a legal agreement to buy or sell a specific commodity or asset at a predetermined price at a specified time in the future.
The Shanghai Futures Exchange is a major commodities and futures exchange in China, where various commodities, including metals like copper, are traded.
The London Metal Exchange is the world's largest market for trading industrial metals, including copper, aluminum, and zinc, providing price discovery and risk management.
A copper premium refers to the additional cost that buyers are willing to pay for copper above the market price, often reflecting demand and supply conditions.
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