LONDON: Copper prices rose on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s extension of a ceasefire with Iran improved overall risk sentiment, although lingering uncertainty over the Middle East conflict capped gains.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.3% at $13,270 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading.
The renewed premium of Comex copper prices over the LME global benchmark, a defining feature of the copper market in 2025, has re-emerged this month, encouraging shipments to the United States.
More copper will flow to the U.S. while the price premium persists until July, when a decision is expected on whether to impose tariffs on the metal, said Kostas Bintas, the global head of metals at trade house Mercuria.
Copper stocks in Comex warehouses are up 2% since mid-April at 544,887 metric tons, nearing February’s record high of 545,867 tons. Meanwhile, inventories in the LME system stood at 395,575 tons after recent outflows from LME-registered warehouses in Asia.
READ MORE: Copper slips as Trump talks down Iran truce extension
At the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland, market participants were largely bullish on copper in the long term, but noted near-term demand risks in the case of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the global aluminium market is already experiencing a “black swan” supply shock due to disruptions stemming from the war, which is expected to result in major shortages this year, according to a top metals analyst at Mercuria.
LME aluminium was up 1.3% at $3,604.5 a ton in official activity. The contract hit a four-year high at $3,672 on April 16.
Nickel rose 0.8% to $18,370,supported by an industry body’s forecast of a deficit in the global market this year.
Among other LME metals, zinc added 0.7% to $3,467, lead fell 0.6% to $1,951, while tin gained 0.5% to $50,175.
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