Copper rises for first time in five days on China buying, disruption fears

Copper climbed for the first time in five days on Wednesday as Chinese buying and concerns over disruption to sulphuric acid and diesel supplies supported prices, even as industry data showed the refined copper market was in a significant surplus.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.3% at $13,072 a metric ton in official open outcry activity.

SP Angel analyst John Meyer said prices were being supported by concerns over shortages of sulphuric acid, which is used to make around 20% of the world’s copper, due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“China banned acid exports and copper miners in Chile get a certain amount of their acid from China,” Meyer said. Chile is the world’s biggest mined copper producer.

Miners are also concerned about diesel shortages, a trader said, adding that Chinese consumers have been buying copper whenever the price dips, “especially ahead of a holiday.”

The Shanghai Futures Exchange will close on Friday for the Labour Day holiday and not reopen until May 6.

Still, the global refined copper market was in a 276,000-ton surplus in February, the International Copper Study Group said on Tuesday.

“We see the refined copper oversupply in 2025 being sustained in 2026 and 2027,” BNP Paribas said in a note.

The bank is nonetheless raising its copper price forecasts for both years, with a base case for prices to hit about $14,000 a ton this quarter. Funds’ interest in the metal “continues to support prices well above fundamentally justified levels,” BNP Paribas said.

Nickel was flat at $19,450 a ton after earlier touching its highest since June 2024. The battery metal has been supported by production cuts in Indonesia, where the sulphur squeeze is also being felt.

Aluminium rose 0.5% to $3,555, not far off the four-year high of $3,672 struck on April 16 due to shortages from the Middle East, while zinc fell 1.1% to $3,322, lead was flat at $1,957 and tin gained 1.7% to $49,775.