Copper Surges As Arbitrage Opportunity Drives US Imports

Copper prices have surged above $10,000 per metric ton on the London Metal Exchange (LME) for the first time since October. On LME, copper has gained 14% year-to-date, while U.S. copper futures surged 26%.

The price differential widened to $1,200 per metric ton, creating arbitrage opportunities. Since copper futures result in physical delivery on maturity, buyers have scrambled to move supplies into the U.S.

Between 100,000 and 150,000 metric tons of copper will arrive in the U.S. in the coming weeks, potentially surpassing the monthly import record of 136,951 tons set in January 2022.

Leading commodity traders, including Trafigura, Glencore, and Gunvor, have aggressively rerouted shipments, with additional warehouse space being secured in New Orleans ...