Copper Cathode
The refined, roughly 99.99%-pure form of copper produced at smelters and refineries, the standard unit traded on exchanges like the LME and COMEX and the base material for wire and cable manufacturing.
Covered in 4 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence articles, most recently on August 15, 2026.
Coverage
Copper's COMEX-LME Price Gap Becomes a Live Bet on Trump's Next Tariff Move as London Warehouses Run Dry
Copper is trading near a record $14,500 a tonne as tariff-driven US-bound flows drain LME warehouses to 214,550 tonnes, widening backwardation to a five-year high and turning the COMEX-LME price gap into a live tariff-odds gauge.
Antofagasta's Margins Hit 63% on Record Copper Prices Even as a Chile Storm Forces a Lower Production Target
Antofagasta's H1 2026 EBITDA margin hit 63.4% on a record $6.19-a-pound realized copper price, even as lower output at Los Pelambres and Centinela — worsened by a July storm — forced a cut to full-year production guidance.
Copper Retests Its Record High as an Indonesian Smelter Goes Down and Aluminum Jumps on a Brazilian Gas Shortage
Copper hit $6.7005/lb, near its record, after a converter leak shut the Indonesian smelter processing Grasberg ore, taking 342,000 tonnes/year offline as aluminum jumped on a Brazilian alumina cut.
Freeport-McMoRan Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates as Copper's Record Rally Fuels Analyst Upgrades
Freeport-McMoRan's Q2 2026 profit beat Wall Street estimates by 25% as copper prices hit record highs on AI data-center and electrification demand, prompting Scotiabank and Bank of America to raise price targets.
