US copper cathode imports to slow in November as October beats breakbulk record

US breakbulk imports of copper cathode are on track to exceed 230kt in October, a monthly record, but Kpler expects deliveries to fall to 100kt in November now that the LME–COMEX arbitrage has closed. The pending Section 232 tariff verdict will decide whether the US draws in more copper, and what happens to the estimated 2 million tons of cathode already on US shores.

Record-breaking imports October deliveries of copper cathode in breakbulk are on track to exceed 230kt as the month draws to a close. This comfortably surpasses the previous record of 198kt set in July and follows more than 140kt in each of August and September. Once containerised and overland trade is fully accounted for, Kpler estimates that the US will have imported over 800kt in the last 4 months, a figure on par with average annual imports prior to 2025.

These outsized imports have been spurred by the arbitrage between LME and COMEX copper prices which averaged $500/t between May and early August, but has since narrowed to a close.

Chile has remained the primary source of breakbulk cathode deliveries in recent months, but the swing tons have come from the DRC and, to a lesser extent, Zambia, with African ports supplying 243kt since the start of July, compared to just 97kt in the first half of the year.

This story was originally published by Hellenic Shipping News. Read the full story at Hellenic Shipping News →