Copper Hits Record $6.90 as Chile Disruptions and AI Demand Tighten Market

Copper is a critical input for power grids, electric vehicles and data centers, but new supply is constrained by long mine-development timelines and declining ore grades. Rapid investment in artificial-intelligence infrastructure and the global energy transition is strengthening structural demand, leaving prices increasingly sensitive to disruptions in major producing countries such as Chile and raising cost and inflation risks across manufacturing industries.

As of Aug. 7, 2026, severe snowstorms had halted mining operations in Chile while falling deliverable inventories tightened the global physical market. Copper futures on CME Group’s COMEX exchange climbed to a record $6.90 a pound. Concerns over trade tariffs and geopolitical instability added to the rally by encouraging manufacturers and traders to accelerate purchases and build strategic stockpiles.