Copper price eases nears record

Copper traded above $14,800 per tonne on Monday– equivalent to about $6.72 per lb. – and was close to its record high.

Traders took profits and reassessed the outlook for U.S. interest rates after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s comments on Friday raised expectations of another rate hike.

The pullback follows a surge driven by tight physical supply, heavy U.S. imports ahead of possible tariffs and a sharp squeeze in available LME metal, factors that continue to underpin bullish sentiment despite the softer start to the week.

Red metal shipments into the United States have sped up in advance of a potential tariff decision from the Trump administration, ING Think commodities strategist Ewa Manthey said in a note this month.

COMEX inventories were at a record high, and “copper imports exceeded 200,000 tonnes in July alone – the highest monthly level in at least 12 years,” Manthey said. Mine supply growth remains tight, while demand from electrification, power grid investment and AI infrastructure is supportive.  

Lithium

The potential restart of Contemporary Amperex Technology’s huge Jianxiawo lithium mine in China has been a factor behind an almost 30% fall in lithium carbonate futures from their May high, Bloomberg reported this month. The mine accounts for about 4% of global lithium supply.

Yet lithium demand is stronger now than it was in past cycles, while new supply is expensive to bring online, Chris Berry, founder of consultancy House Mountain Partners said in a note In August. The market might tighten further if Zimbabwe moves ahead with an export ban on lithium concentrate on Jan. 1, CRU Group analyst Cameron Hughes said in August.

Uranium

Despite a higher uranium spot price, stable long-term pricing and intact fundamentals, uranium mining equities diverged from the metal in July, with senior miners falling by about 7.2% and juniors off 6.3%, Sprott Asset Management director of ETF product management Jacob White said in an August report. 

Miners rebounded in early August, reflecting renewed investor interest and better risk sentiment. Meanwhile, utility contracting in the U.S. and Europe is far below volumes needed to replace annual reactor consumption.

Data source: Trading Economics, MINING.COM