LONDON: Copper pulled back from a record high on Thursday on a stronger dollar and easing concerns over the potential imposition of US tariffs on the metal.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.3percent at USD13,145 a metric ton in official open-outcry activity, having touched a record USD13,407 on Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had opted against imposing tariffs on rare earths, lithium and other critical minerals. Copper is on the US critical minerals list and faces a potential 15percent import tariff from 2027 but was not mentioned in Trump’s statement.
“If there’s a dial down in desire to put tariffs in right now for the other metals, that reduces the risk for copper as well,” said WisdomTree commodity strategist Nitesh Shah. “So maybe there’s a little bit of premium coming off there.”
The premium on the cash LME copper contract over the three-month forward has eased to about USD39 a ton, from roughly USD90 on Tuesday, indicating less urgent need for metal.
A stronger dollar was also weighing on prices. A firmer US currency makes dollar-denominated metals more expensive for buyers with other currencies. Zinc was up 0.9percent at USD3,306 a ton after touching USD3,355 for its highest since February 3, 2023.
Even so, the cash LME zinc contract was trading at a discount of USD14 a ton against the three-month forward. “I don’t think going forward we’re going to have particularly tight supplies,” Shah said of zinc.
Lead edged up by 0.1percent to USD2,081 a ton, having notched a two-month high while tin advanced 0.9 percent to USD53,950, close to Wednesday’s record peak of USD54,760. Nickel slid 3.4percent to USD18,050 after touching a 19-month high in the previous session in a bullish start to 2026 for base metals, while aluminium fell 0.3percent to USD3,175.50.
“It’s very difficult to look at these kind of very parabolic upside price moves and think that they’re sustainable,” said BNP Paribas senior commodities strategist David Wilson.
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