London copper edges up after volatile Mideast peace negotiations

SINGAPORE: Copper prices ticked up on the London Metal Exchange on Monday as the market digested a turbulent weekend of US-Iran peace negotiations.

Benchmark three-month copper on the LME was up 0.41% to $13,650.5 a metric ton by 0300 GMT.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.46% to 104,490 yuan ($15,425.16) a ton.

Traders watched the macroeconomic environment after peace negotiations between the US and Iran over the weekend.

The first round of high-level peace talks concluded on Monday, mediators said.

US President Donald Trump threatened to resume attacks and Tehran said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz again over the weekend.

The conflict has weighed on base metal markets, dampening risk appetite and raising energy prices, weighing on growth expectations.

Brent crude was down 2.04%.

The market is also watching the potential introduction of US tariffs on copper imports.

Tariff concerns have supported copper prices and pulled material from warehouses outside the US A review and recommendation to Trump by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on the tariff is due by the end of June.

The US has floated a possible 15% levy on copper imports from the start of 2027, followed by 30% from 2028.

Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the SHFE fell 23.6% last week, the exchange said on Thursday.

On Friday, copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses fell a further 3,575 tons to 352,150 tons, exchange data showed.

Cancelled warrants, indicating metal earmarked for withdrawal, reached 37% of total stocks.

Among other LME metals, aluminium was little changed, down only 0.01%, zinc ticked 0.1% higher, lead dipped 0.13%, nickel gained 0.94% and tin rose 1.12%.

Elsewhere on SHFE, aluminium added 0.33%, zinc lost 0.72%, lead fell 0.76%, nickel lost 0.98% and tin dropped 1.69%.