Copper little changed as demand slows ahead of China holiday

Copper prices were little change on Wednesday, as demand slowed ahead of China’s nine-day Lunar New Year break.

The most-active copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dipped 0.10% to 101,760 yuan ($14,721.58) a metric ton as of 0320 GMT.

The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was unchanged at $13,108 a ton.

Demand from downstream users in top consumer China has slowed after last week’s restocking activities and the approaching of the nine-day Lunar New Year break, analysts at Chinese broker Galaxy Future said in a note.

Demand for the red metal will only pick up in March in China, traders said.

Meanwhile, rising copper stock level continued to be a concern for investors.

The share of copper made in China in LME stocks fell in January as the bourse has become the go-to place for traders from the US and the rest of Asia looking to store the metal, but China-origin stocks still posted a month-on-month rise in absolute terms, up 8.77% to 95,150 tons from 87,475 tons in December.

While copper stocks monitored by SHFE rose to the highest since March on Friday, the US Comex copper stocks continued to see daily inflow, advancing to a record 536,563 tons.

The weakening dollar remained a support for industrial metals, by making greenback-priced commodities more affordable for investors using other currencies.

Further support was found from a stronger Chinese yuan with the onshore yuan strengthening to 6.9085 on Tuesday, its strongest since May 2023, which is making the US dollar-denominated copper cheaper for Chinese buyers and investors.

Among other SHFE base metals, nickel is leading gains, up 3.85% to 139,140 yuan a ton.

LME nickel also advanced, rising 1.69% to $17,785 a ton. Nickel’s strength came from Indonesia’s plan to cut nickel mining quotas in 2026.

“In both coal and nickel, the Indonesian government has moved to reduce mining permits (RKABs) in 2026, which could lead to lower volumes being produced and exported,” Jim Lennon, Managing Director of Commodities Strategy at Macquarie Group in a note.

Elsewhere on SHFE, aluminium added 0.25%, zinc gained 0.43%, lead advanced 0.33%, and tin climbed 2.22%.

Among other LME metals, aluminium rose 0.55%, zinc added 0.28%, lead nudged 0.15% higher and tin was up 0.44%.