Chile's Codelco is offering European customers copper at a record-high premium of US$350 ($499.75) a tonne for 2027, up more than 7% from US$325 this year, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter, as reported by Reuters via Mining.com.au. Codelco, the world's biggest copper miner by production, declined to comment. Premiums set by Codelco for physical delivery of refined copper are paid on top of London Metal Exchange (LME) prices.
They are often used as a benchmark in global supply contracts for metal used in electric vehicles, grid infrastructure and construction. The record premium was offered as the global metals industry gathers in London for LME Week, and it points to an emerging trend of higher copper premiums for next year on expectations of shortages in Europe. Aurubis, Europe's biggest copper smelter, last week raised its 2027 premium by around 10% to US$347 a tonne, also a record for the German company.
According to Reuters, shortages in the world outside the United States are linked to expectations of US tariffs on copper imports. Traders have been shipping copper to the US since President Donald Trump ordered a study on the potential for tariffs in February 2025. The prospect of tariffs pushed Comex prices to a record high of US$6.83 a pound, or US$15,057 a tonne, on 22 September.
Comex-approved warehouses in the US hold around 70% of the world's visible copper stocks, Reuters reported. Mine disruptions have also helped keep prices elevated. These include a deadly landslide this month at Codelco's El Teniente deposit.
The LME copper price hit a record high of US$14,875 a tonne last month and was last around US$14,380 a tonne. Codelco also offers separate premiums for the US and Asian markets, including China, the world's top metals consumer. Source: Reuters, published by Mining.com.au, 21 October 2026.
Source: mining.com.au