Copper extended gains, hitting a record high for a second straight session, as tight near-term supplies and expectations the US will tariff imports of refined metal buoyed prices. The industrial metal rose for a fourth day on the London Metal Exchange, touching an all-time peak of $14,617 a ton. Copper has rallied around 17% this year, supported by a long-term mismatch between constrained mine supply and growing demand from data centers, renewable energy equipment and power grids.

Shorter-term tightness has been amplified by a massive shift of refined copper toward the US, to capture higher prices due to the prospect of tariffs. The flows have drained stockpiles in LME warehouses. That triggered a severe squeeze last month and kept the futures curve in steep backwardation.

Demand in China, the world's biggest copper consumer, is also expected to pick up as the market enters a traditional peak season for manufacturing. Inventories in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses fell to the lowest since 2024 last week. "It should be easy for copper to reach $15,000," said Jia Zheng, a trading manager at Suzhou Chuangyuan Harmony-Win Capital Management Co. Three-month copper futures rose 0.5% to $14,581 a ton on the LME as of 11:08 a.m. in Singapore after being up as much as 0.7% earlier. Zinc jumped 1.1% and aluminum climbed 0.1%.

Iron ore futures advanced 0.8% to $101.10 a ton in Singapore.