The Shanghai copper started the year strong on Monday. Concerns over supply have intensified following a strike in a Chilean mine.

The most active copper contract on the stock exchange Shanghai futures rose 2.02% to 100,690 yuan (14%) ($424.26) per metric ton, at 03:15 GMT, recovering the 100,000 level yuan on the first trading day of 2026.

The reference price for copper at three months on the London Metal Exchange rose 2.86% to $12,826.5 per cent ton.

Earlier in the day, the contract went up up to 3.28% and came close to a record of $12,960 set the year last.

Copper prices were supported by the strike of hundreds of miners at the Mantoverde copper and gold mine, operated by Capstone Copper, in northern Chile, following the failure of negotiations between the main union and the company concerning new contracts of work.

Aluminum got off to a good start to the year.

The price of aluminum in Shanghai has soared to 4.57% to reach 23,750 yuan per ton, a level not seen since more than four years.

The London aluminium reference price has increased by 1.77% to reach $3,069 per ton, its highest level in three and a half years.

The most active tin price in Shanghai has increased by 2.33%, while the London pewter reference price rose jumped by 5.13%.

Elsewhere in Shanghai, zinc increased by 2.58%, lead by 1.07% and nickel by 0.44%.

Among the other metals in LME, zinc has increased by 1.52%, lead rose by 0.80%, while nickel fell by 0.06 %.