LONDON: Copper prices bounced on Thursday after two days of heavy losses, as investors swooped in on bargain prices while a weaker dollar and optimism across wider financial markets also helped.
London Metal Exchange’s benchmark three-month copper gained 1.6 percent to USD13,295 a metric ton at 1615 GMT, after giving up more than 4 percent during the previous two sessions.
“Copper is recovering after a steep sell-off earlier this week, supported by a softer dollar and improved risk appetite,” said Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at ING.
Globally, stocks surged after strong earnings and forecasts from chip giants Micron and Qualcomm helped reignite the AI rally.
Metals were also supported by a weaker dollar index, after a flurry of US economic data that included a reading on inflation slightly dented expectations for rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this year.
A weaker dollar makes commodities priced in the US currency cheaper for buyers using other currencies.
Sentiment, however, was cautious, Manthey added.
“The broader macro backdrop remains challenging, with higher-for-longer US rate expectations weighing on industrial metals more broadly.”
LME aluminium rose 1.5 percent to USD3,170 a ton after having given up the last of its gains due to the US-Iran war in the previous session.
The decline “highlights how quickly the market has repriced once energy concerns eased and the narrative shifted from disruption to normalisation,” analysts at Sucden Financial wrote in a note.
The most-traded aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange shed 2.6 percent to close daytime trading at 22,865 yuan (USD3,360.82) a ton, having earlier dropped to its lowest in 2026.
LME nickel rose 0.4 percent to USD16,885 a ton after top producer Indonesia said it had not yet decided its nickel production quota for 2026 amid speculation the cap would be increased.
Among other metals, LME zinc added 0.5 percent to USD3,423.50 a ton, lead was flat at USD1,913 and tin advanced 1.9 percent to USD50,620.
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