Aurubis raises premium for 2026 European Copper to a record $315 per ton
Three market sources reported on Tuesday that Europe's largest copper smelter Aurubis would charge European customers an additional $315 per ton of refined copper in the coming year. This is a record-high for the German company.
The premium is added to the London Metal Exchange copper price, which is used in construction and power. It is 38% higher than the $228 per ton paid in 2025 or the two previous years.
Aurubis has declined to comment.
The record premium is due to fears that there will be a shortage of copper in the coming year, which pushed LME Copper prices to a 16 month high of $10,000 a ton. The metal gained around 8% in the last month, and traded at $10698.50 by 1027 GMT Tuesday.
After a deadly mudslide, Freeport-McMoRan declared force majeure last month at its Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia. In addition, the Kamoa Kakula mine is in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The El Teniente Mine in Chile has also experienced disruptions this year.
Analysts have adjusted their copper market balance predictions due to the suspension of production in Grasberg. Freeport has slashed its sales forecasts for Indonesian units for this year and for next.
Societe Generale stated in a September 29 note that the copper supply deficit will be its biggest since 2004 due to the loss of 273,000 tonnes of copper by Grasberg from September to December. Bank of America has increased its estimate of the copper market deficit for 2026 from 50,000 tons to 350,000 tonnes.
(source: Reuters)