The Latest Breaking News from LME

Base metals were the second-best-performing sector of the commodities asset class in Q4 2025 and the third-best over the entire year. As the sector is now in 2026, the trends for base metals remain bullish

COMEX copper futures have been in a bullish trend, making higher lows and higher highs since the low of 60.40 cents per pound in 2001. In 2025, the red nonferrous metal reached nearly $6 per ounce before correcting. However, the pattern of higher lows remained firmly intact.

After a wild tariff-inspired ride in 2025, copper prices reached two all-time peaks and fell towards the $4 support level. At over $4.70 per pound in September, the odds of another test above the $5 level are high.

Nearby COMEX copper futures in late July rose to a new record high of $5.8950 a pound. Last week the bottom fell out of the red industrial metal’s futures market.

The U.S. tariffs have caused COMEX copper prices to experience extreme price variance over the past months, leading to new record highs. Meanwhile, three-month LME copper forwards have not challenged their Q2 2024 all-time price peak. While the U.S. futures have been far more volatile than the U.K. forwards, fundamentals…

Just when the copper code had been cracked by traders (or so they thought), President Donald Trump‘s tariff surprise slammed copper prices, and in turn copper ETFs, into a loss spiral, resulting in a path of losses, confusion, and a storage facility full of losing wagers.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) reported better-than-expected second-quarter results on Wednesday, driven by strong copper and gold sales volumes, lower costs, and favorable pricing. The company also marked a major operational milestone with the start-up of its new copper smelter in Indonesia.

The base metals composite edged lower in Q2 but was higher over the first half of 2025. Copper was particularly volatile, with the price dropping from over $5 to challenge critical support at $4 before returning to the $5 per pound level at the end of Q2.

A surprise 50% import tariff on copper announced by President Donald Trump on Tuesday sent the red metal into a frenzy, driving prices to a historic high of $5.90 per pound as investors rushed to price in potential supply constraints.