Copper hits record high on weaker dollar and supply outlook

LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters): Copper prices hit a record high on Tuesday, crossing the $12,000 mark as thin year-end trade extended momentum for speculative buying on a weaker dollar and worries about tighter supply.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 1% at $12,039 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading after touching a record $12,132.

The dollar index fell while the Chinese yuan climbed to a 15-month high against the US currency, making dollar-priced metals more attractive for buyers in the top metals consumer.

The Yangshan premium, an indicator of Chinese appetite for copper imports, rose 15% to a three-month high of $55 a ton.

Heading for the biggest annual gain since 2009, copper is up 38% this year after mine supply disruptions, outflows of stocks to the U.S. and bets that demand for copper will benefit from the green energy transition.

From the point of view of global supply, there is no shortage of the metal. The International Copper Study Group estimates that the market had a surplus of 122,000 tons for the first 10 months of the year.

However, copper has been flooding into the United States, tightening availability in traditional consuming centres on the prospect of President Donald Trump placing an import tariff on refined copper from 2027.