METALS-Copper hits $11,000 a ton as investors bet on shortages

By Tom Daly

Oct 9 (Reuters) - Copper struck $11,000 per metric ton on Thursday, a milestone not seen for 16 months as investors piled into the metal after a series of disruptions to mine supply led to fears of shortages, while aluminium hit a more than three-year peak.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 rose 3.1% to hit the $11,000 mark, moving it within striking distance of its all-time peak of $11,104.50, set in May 2024. It was up 2.1% at $10,886.50 as of 1600 GMT.

Investors in top metals consumer China returned to the market on Thursday after a week-long public holiday.

Alastair Munro, senior metals strategist at brokerage Marex, said speculative Western money had poured into copper around the end of the third quarter after Freeport FCX.N declared force majeure at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia.

"Today China has come in on the bid overnight and their spec community has now joined that Western bid," Munro said, noting that some profit-taking had now begun.

Total copper stocks in the LME warehousing system MCUSTX-TOTAL are at 139,475 tons, the lowest since late July.

"If there's any expectation that Grasberg is coming back faster than people have been told over the past couple of weeks, copper would take a hit," Panmure Liberum analyst Tom Price said.

Copper's strength lifted the base metals complex higher. Aluminium CMAL3 rose as much as 2% to $2,807.50, the highest since June 2022, and was last at $2,802. Marex positioning estimates show the largest speculative long in LME aluminium since June 2024.

"We expect still relatively low visible inventory, U.S. Fed rate cuts, and a higher copper price to keep aluminium prices supported through to the end of 2025," Goldman Sachs had said in a note earlier this week.

Zinc CMZN3 climbed 0.9% to $3,032, having earlier risen as much as 2.5% to $3,080, the highest since December 2024. Nickel CMNI3 gained 1% to $15,490, lead CMPB3 added 1.4% to $2,029, and tin CMSN3 jumped 1.7% to $37,030.