Copper climbs to record high as tightness offsets Middle East worries
XLB•Copper hits record high on tight supplies
LONDON, Sept. 9 (Reuters) - Copper struck a record high on Wednesday, as tight supplies outside the United States overshadowed concerns over the Middle East conflict's impact on economic growth.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 gained momentum in afternoon trade after an early dip and rose as much as 0.5% to $14,782 a metric ton, beating the previous all-time peak of $14,779 set on Tuesday.
It was trading up 0.4% at $14,770 as of 1445 GMT.
Copper had slipped in morning trade as hostilities in the Middle East flared, raising concerns about global growth and demand.
Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel to six-week highs after attacks by the U.S. and Iran escalated. O/R
U.S. inflows, inventories and other metals
LME copper has gained some 25% since hitting a three-month low in March, driven mainly by a flow of metal to the U.S. on speculation about tariffs being imposed on refined copper there, creating shortages elsewhere.
On Tuesday, analyst Natalie Scott-Gray at brokerage StoneX estimated more than 1.2 million tons of copper have entered the U.S. since Washington launched its Section 232 investigation into copper in February last year, leaving available material outside the country at "historically low levels".
Copper on the U.S. COMEX exchange HGc4 rose 0.4% to .
