Market diagnosis: Copper printed its all-time-high close at $14,850/mt LME Cash on August 17 as a delivery squeeze climaxed - the cash-to-3M backwardation hit $545/t, the widest since 2021, with live LME warrants down to ~103,000 t. Then the squeeze UNWOUND. Into the August 19 third-Wednesday prompt, Trafigura and other houses delivered more than 55,000 t into LME warehouses; backwardation collapsed to $176/t, LME stocks rebounded 17% off the trough, and 3M closed Friday at $14,111.50 - the first weekly decline in eight weeks. What did NOT unwind: spot treatment charges at a record -$175.7/t, Chinese refined output falling year-on-year for the first time in years (-3.18% in July), Grasberg's 2026 loss revised up to 313 kt, Las Bambas suspended after a fatal accident, and the Section 232 refined-cathode decision still unresolved after Commerce missed its June 30 deadline. The squeeze premium is exiting; the structural floor is intact. Buyers should lock 60-70% of Q4 on dips toward $13,500-14,000 and keep 30-40% flexible into the tariff binary.