All I Want for Christmas Is... $12,000 Copper? Ho Ho Ho, Bulls Got It!
Red Metal Breaches $12,000 Milestone Amid Tariffs, Mine Disruptions, and Electrifying Long-Term Demand
While most of us are decking the halls with twinkling lights and shiny ornaments this holiday season, the copper market has been busy unwrapping its own festive surprise, a dazzling breach of the $12,000 per ton milestone that has traders feeling downright merry.
On December 23, the three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange soared as high as $12,159.50 before closing around $12,012, marking the first time the red metal has ever topped $12,000. It's the perfect stocking stuffer for bulls, capping a year that's delivered gains exceeding 35% and the biggest annual jump since 2009.
This holiday rally comes courtesy of a potent mix: U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies sparking massive front-running imports into America, and a series of unfortunate mining disruptions that have tightened supply just when the world needs it most. With 50% duties already in place on certain copper products since August, and whispers of more to come, importers have hoarded metal stateside, distorting global flows and igniting bidding wars elsewhere, even as demand softens in China, the planet's biggest consumer.

