Copper in limbo as traders await Iran war, Fed signals

Copper prices lacked direction on Tuesday as investors waited for news on whether peace talks between the United States and Iran would go ahead, as well as a Federal Reserve chair confirmation hearing that could provide clues on interest rates.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.1% at $13,288 per metric ton in official open outcry activity, after ending down 0.5% in the previous session.

The United States expressed confidence that talks with Iran would still take place and a senior Iranian official said Tehran was considering joining, but significant hurdles and uncertainty remain as the end of a ceasefire looms.

“The lack of directional move suggests that, for now, the complex is waiting for clearer signals from macro and geopolitical developments,” brokerage Sucden Financial said in a note on industrial metals.

The dollar index nudged up 0.1%, making greenback-denominated metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Copper and aluminium trade in narrow ranges ahead of possible U.S.-Iran talks

Investors were also focused on Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh’s Senate hearing on Tuesday, which will test his independence from a White House that had criticised current Fed Chair Jerome Powell multiple times for failing to cut rates sooner.

In China, refined copper output rose to a monthly record in March, showing no cutbacks despite last year’s vow by smelters to trim output by 10% to counter falling processing fees.

Elsewhere, aluminium added 0.3% to $3,568 a ton, as concerns over Gulf supplies persist, while zinc was the biggest gainer on the LME, rising 1.1% to $3,447.50. Investors were likely hedging their short positions on zinc, used to galvanise steel, by buying futures contracts, one trader said.

Broker Marex said the overall speculative long position on zinc was the highest since the second quarter of 2024.

Lead climbed 0.4% to $1,981, tin added 0.7% to $51,040 and nickel nudged up 0.2% to $18,290. Nickel contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange will be opened to overseas traders for the first time from today’s evening session in China.