Copper Hits Highest Close in History as Debasement Trade Lifts Metals and Crypto Alike

In Brief

• Copper settled at $6.71 on Tuesday, its highest closing price in history.
• The US Treasury doubled bond buybacks to $4 billion, stoking dollar weakness fears.
• Bitcoin trades near $79,100 after touching $81,000, its highest level since May.

Copper futures settled at $6.71 per pound on Comex on Tuesday, the highest closing price in the metal’s history. The debasement trade is lifting metals and crypto together.

The trade describes investors rotating into scarce assets on bets that US debt management will erode the dollar. Gold, silver, and Bitcoin (BTC) are all climbing on the same fear.

Copper (XCU), Gold (XAU), and Silver (XAG) Daily Charts. Source:

Treasury Buybacks Revive the Debasement Trade

September copper futures ended the day at $6.71, up roughly 1.6%, according to Trading Economics. Market data firm Barchart had flagged the contract as on course for its strongest closing price in history during the session.

Supply strain explains part of the move, with reports indicating that London Metal Exchange stockpiles fell 14% since late July to 214,550 tonnes. Chile also trimmed its output forecast for a second straight quarter, and an outage at Indonesia’s giant Gresik smelter tightened the market further.