Copper price rally resumes on supply warning

Copper prices rebounded to a near record on Wednesday amid fresh warnings of a sizable supply shortage that is likely to fall short of demand.

Three-month futures on the London Metal Exchange settled at $11,556.50 a ton, for an intraday gain of 0.6%.

Earlier this week, the metal — a raw material vital to renewable energy, electric vehicles and data centers — hit a record of $11,771 a ton after promising economic outlook from China, its top consumer.

The renewed rally comes on the back of further bullish calls on copper’s long-term prospects, which in recent months have been lifted by a series of mine disruptions and growing expectations of a US tariff on the metal.

“We believe a period of higher prices is needed to spur investment in new copper production, and the mining industry struggles to build new supply,” RBC Capital Markets said in its latest note.

“The interplay of AI-driven data center growth, EV expansion and a global shift toward dovish economic policy sets up a strong case for copper demand.”

After setting a record, copper had fallen as much as 1.3% following signs of slowdown in Chinese demand, as new data revealed that producer prices in the country fell for the 38th straight month.

The earlier decline also came before Wednesday’s US interest rate decision, which would have a bearing on the outlook for the world’s biggest economy next year.

(With files from Bloomberg)