Copper Erases Tariff Selloff as Shanghai Stockpiles Hit Three-Year Low
Copper closed Tuesday a hair below its all-time high, extending its winning streak to six sessions as Chinese buyers restocked ahead of back-to-back holidays and warehouse inventories in Shanghai and London kept draining. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange settled at $14,783 a metric ton, up 0.8%, according to Shanghai Metals Market, leaving it $92 short of the $14,875 record set…
Copper prices have rebounded following a recent selloff, according to wire reports. The metal closed Tuesday just below its all-time high, having extended its upward trend for six consecutive sessions. This gain has brought copper close to erasing the losses it incurred when rumors of a stalled U.S. tariff plan prompted a sharp drop in prices.
The key driver of this rally is supply constraints in China, where copper cathode stocks hit a three-year low and warehouse inventories in Shanghai and London are rapidly depleting. With Chinese markets closing for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, buyers are rushing to stock up before these breaks. Meanwhile, the London Metal Exchange reported a premium of $62 for cash copper, reversing a recent discount, indicating a strong demand for metal in the spot market.
Supply-side concerns also loom, with global mined copper production potentially falling for the first time since 2017 due to mine outages. Despite these challenges, copper prices have climbed 18% this year and 21% on the Comex market, driven by robust demand from renewable energy and data center growth.
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