LONDON: Copper prices fell on Friday, pressured by a stronger dollar and profit-taking as some investors locked in gains after the previous session’s record high.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped 3.3percent to USD13,161 a metric ton by 1706 GMT but held above its 21-day moving average, which provides support at USD13,011.
Copper is up 6percent this month, having hit a record high of USD14,527.50 as speculators extended their buying spree on Thursday, driving the LME’s index of six base metals contracts to its own record high.
Copper’s record-breaking start to the year cannot be justified by market fundamentals, Stonex analyst Natalie Scott-Gray said in a note. Copper above USD13,000 a ton is unsustainable throughout 2026, she said. In top metals consumer China, the fall in copper prices lifted the Yangshan premium by 17percent to USD27 a ton, still historically low for a metric that reflects Chinese appetite for imported copper. The premium hit USD20 this week for its lowest since mid-2024. The selloff in base metals was given momentum by a stronger dollar in the lead-up to US President Donald Trump’s choice of former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to head the US central bank when Jerome Powell’s term ends in May.
A stronger US currency makes dollar-priced metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies. Friday’s volatility coincided with a one-hour delay to the start of trading at the LME electronic platform because of technical problems.
However, LME base metals held up relatively well compared with precious metals, where silver and platinum registered falls in double-digit percentages.
In other LME metals, aluminium fell 2.3 percent to USD3,146 a ton, zinc dropped 0.1percent to USD3,405.50, lead shed 0.3percent to USD2,006.50 and tin slid 7.2 percent to USD51,150 while nickel lost 3.2percent to USD17,770.
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