{
  "id": 8029201,
  "title": "Copper rallies as Chinese buyers return to the market",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/copper-rallies-as-chinese-buyers-return-to-the-market",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-17T13:09:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40439976/copper-rallies-as-chinese-buyers-return-to-the-market"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Copper prices surged on Thursday as Chinese buyers returned to the market following a recent sell-off, and demand prospects improved despite a US interest rate hike. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange jumped 1.2% to $14,408 per metric ton, marking a 4% drop since it peaked at $14,875 on September 10. The dollar also gained after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates and pledged to curb inflation. Although industrial metal prices fell as a stronger US currency made dollar-priced metals pricier for other nations, Chinese purchases were back in force, though not in huge volumes, according to Alastair Munro, senior base metals strategist at Marex. He stressed that Chinese demand was genuine physical buying, not mere speculation. Evidence of this includes the Yangshan copper premium, which soared to $118 a ton on Wednesday, its highest level since October 2022, and higher domestic physical market premiums, up to 645 yuan a ton, the highest since December 2023. Concerns also arose from the reduced stocks of copper in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange, at 54,780 tons, the lowest since January 2024, mainly due to traders and producers shipping metal to the US in anticipation of import tariffs. This explains the drop in stocks in LME warehouses since February last year when President Donald Trump first proposed a levy on imports. Meanwhile, zinc rose 1.2% to $3,860 per ton following reports of an industrial accident at Korea Zinc's Onsan smelter, raising concerns about supply. Other metals, including aluminum, lead, tin, and nickel, also experienced gains of 0.5%, 0.9%, 1.2%, and 1.1% respectively, with prices reaching $3,284, $1,902, $53,080, and $16,340 per ton.",
  "summary": "LONDON: Copper prices rallied on Thursday as Chinese buyers returned to the market after a recent selloff, demand prospects brightened and the market brushed off a US interest rate hike. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange traded 1.2% higher to $14,408 a metric ton in official rings. Prices of the metal, used in the power and construction industries, have dropped 4% since hitting a…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}