At the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, the global copper market entered a phase of sharp price growth and high volatility. Quotes on the largest commodity exchanges LME (London) and Shanghai Futures Exchange We have reached historical highs, which directly affects the cost of cable products worldwide
Historical highs on LME and in China
According to stock trading and analytical agencies:
- in December 2025, the price of copper on the LME approached $12,000/ton
- at the end of December, a new record was set at about $12,800/ton
- in January 2026, the quotes exceeded $13,000/ton for the first time
- on some days, the market rose above $14,500/ton
At the same time, in 2025 alone, copper rose in price by about 42%, showing the highest result since 2009.
A similar trend was observed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, where quotations also reached record levels, confirming the global nature of price growth.
Analysts' forecasts: growth may continue
The largest investment banks and commodity analysts expect high prices to remain:
- Citigroup: possible growth to 13,000-15,000 $/ton in 2026
- UBS: about $12,000-13,000/ton by the end of 2026
- J.P. Morgan: the average price is about 12,000 $/ton with a shortage of the market
- Bank of America: average price over 11,000 $/ton in 2026 with peaks up to 15,000 $/ton
According to analysts, the price increase is due to:
- production shortages and disruptions at mines
- investments in energy and infrastructure
- development of data centers and artificial intelligence
- global electrification and "green" energy
- by geopolitics
Volatility and market reaction
Despite the record prices, the market remains extremely unstable.
According to Reuters, against the background of high prices in early 2026, copper stocks on exchanges exceeded 1.1 million tons, which is the highest since 2003.
It means:
- part of the industrial demand has decreased due to the high cost;
- the market is actively influenced by investment and speculative capital;
- price spikes occur faster than changes in real demand.
How does this affect the cable market
Copper forms up to 65-70% of the cost of a LAN cable, so its dynamics directly affects the cost of products.
The current market situation leads to the following trends:
- Shortening the validity period of prices
- price lists are updated more frequently;
- fixed prices are valid for a limited time.
- Switching to formula pricing
- linking to stock indexes;
- using copper coefficients.
- The growing importance of local manufacturers
- customers choose suppliers with short delivery times;
- Domestic production stability is important.
The position of the NGO "Farial"
"Farial" provides:
- own LAN cable production in Russia;
- transparent pricing policy;
- Flexible supply conditions in a volatile copper market.
This allows the company's partners to plan purchases and implement projects even in conditions of record prices for raw materials.
