Copper price extends retreat from record as China tests the tariff trade
Chinese industrial profit growth slowed to its weakest pace this year, a reminder that beneath the tariff-driven scramble for metal, demand is patchy.
Copper prices retreated from record highs on Thursday as data from China shifted focus from tariff effects that drove prices to record levels to current demand in the metal's primary consumer. Comex copper for September delivery dropped 0.5% to $6.5645 a pound in New York, ending just over 3% below Wednesday's record of $6.7775.
The contract had reached all-time peaks on three of the previous four trading sessions prior to profit-taking ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech. In London, tightness persisted with the LME's official cash price climbing to $14,525 a tonne, a $355 rise over the past week, and the premium over three-month metal reaching $189.
Three-month copper settled at $14,336 on Wednesday, with warehouse stocks decreasing to 237,475 tonnes. Industrial firms in China reported an 11.2% rise in profits for July, the weakest growth in a year, showing an uneven economy. Electronics and raw materials producers contributed to 16 percentage points of the 17.6% increase in profits so far this year, while consumer-facing sectors lagged behind.
Copper's surge this month was driven more by inventory shifting ahead of U.S. import duties than by end-use demand.
Written by urgent.news from Mining.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
