Copper posts biggest one-day gain in years and surpasses $14,000 a tonne.

Copper jumped to an LME record above $14,000 a tonne after an almost 8% one-day rise, with traders citing speculative buying, a weaker dollar and demand hopes even as physical demand indicators in China remained weak.

Copper prices rose sharply on Thursday, reaching an LME three-month intraday record of $14,125 a tonne before easing to about $13,935 by 1050 GMT. Traders and analysts linked the move to intense speculative buying, a weaker dollar and hopes for stronger demand in sectors like data centres and power infrastructure. Physical demand indicators in China showed signs of weakness while exchange-monitored inventories remain high, especially in the United States. Broader interest in hard assets and geopolitical concerns were also cited as supporting metals prices. Key facts: - Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange jumped 7.9% to $14,125 a tonne in Asian trading, then pared gains to $13,935 by 1050 GMT (a rise of about 6.5%). - The most-active Shanghai Futures Exchange copper contract closed 6.7% higher at 109,110 yuan a tonne after setting an intraday record of 110,970 yuan. - The Yangshan copper premium, a gauge of Chinese demand for imported copper, fell to $20 a tonne, its lowest since July 2024 and down from $55 in December. - Market participants pointed to intense speculative trading in China, a weaker U.S. dollar and expectations of spending on data centres, robotics and power infrastructure as drivers, according to a market note cited in the report. - Other London Metal Exchange metals also rose: aluminium about 1.5% to $3,307 a tonne, zinc about 3.8% to $3,493, lead about 1.3% to $2,044, nickel about 4.2% to $19,045 and tin about 0.7% to $56,350. Summary: The price surge pushed copper to multi-year highs and was accompanied by gains across several base metals, reflecting speculative momentum and macroeconomic influences. Undetermined at this time.