Copper rises as Trump signals possible Iran peace deal, China resumes trade

Copper prices rose on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump signalled a potential peace agreement to end the war with Iran, easing concerns about the economic fallout, with most industrial metals also supported by top user China’s return from holidays.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.3% to $13,309 per metric ton by 0620 GMT, its highest level since April 27.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 1.7% at 102,810 yuan ($15,051.94) per ton. Chinese markets resumed trading on Wednesday following the May Day holiday.

Stocks leaped, oil prices sank, and the dollar dropped after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would briefly pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing “great progress” towards a comprehensive agreement with Iran.

“What we’re seeing at the moment is the hope that the conflict in the Middle East will continue to de-escalate and not disrupt the global economy too significantly,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com.

“If you combine that with the fact that there is still this growing optimism about the AI buildout and other more structural and fundamental drivers of demand for copper, the risk is currently skewed to the upside.”

LME aluminium prices were down 0.1% to $3,586.50 a ton on hopes of easing supply disruptions from the Gulf, which accounts for about 9% of global production of the metal.

Analysts at ANZ expect aluminium prices to remain skewed to the upside, trading above $3,400 per ton this year as supply disruptions and geopolitical risks keep the market in deficit, outweighing slower demand growth.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s aluminium exports in March more than doubled from the previous month to hit their highest since November 2023 and included a rare cargo to the United States, data showed.

Among other LME metals, nickel rose 1.7%, lead was up 0.5%, tin climbed 6.3% and zinc gained 1.4%.

On the SHFE, aluminium gained 1.3%, nickel rose 3.8%, lead gained 1.9%, zinc was up 2.5%, while tin climbed 8.5%.