Copper heads for broadly steady week as Iran headlines keep traders cautious
- Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.61% to $13,598.50 a metric ton
London and Shanghai copper were on track to log a largely rangebound week on Friday, as investors weighed shifting headlines around US-Iran peace talks.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.61% to $13,598.50 a metric ton by 0330 GMT.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dipped 0.24% to 104,480 yuan ($15,365.16) a ton.
For the week, LME copper rose 0.65% so far, while the Shanghai copper ticked 0.11% lower, with traders saying they are reluctant to take strong directional bets as geopolitical headlines continued to drive moves across oil, currencies and bond markets.
Oil prices rose on Friday, as investors weighed whether US-Iran peace negotiations would deliver a quick breakthrough, with key disagreements remaining over Iran’s uranium stockpile and controls around the Strait of Hormuz, even as both sides reported signs of progress. Brent crude was still trading above $100 a barrel, keeping inflation concerns alive.
The Strait of Hormuz remains important to market sentiment as disruptions there have tightened energy flows and lifted concerns that higher oil prices could keep global interest rates elevated for longer.
Those inflation concerns have supported the dollar, which hovered near a six-week high, making greenback-priced metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Elsewhere on the LME, aluminium added 0.22%, zinc rose 1.01%, lead ticked 0.10% higher, nickel gained 0.31% and tin climbed 1.37%.
Among other SHFE metals, aluminium ticked 0.10% lower, zinc was little changed, down by just 0.02%, lead rose 0.51%, nickel dropped 0.59% and tin added 0.09%.‑Reuters
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