Copper falls, heads for weekly dip as Mideast tensions weigh on demand outlook

Copper prices fell on Friday, tracking equity markets lower as escalating tensions in the Middle East war spurred inflation concerns and cast a shadow over the demand outlook for industrial metals.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 1.3% at $13,419.50 a metric ton as of 0930 GMT, after edging up 0.1% on Thursday. The metal widely used in power, construction and manufacturing was on course to end the week down 0.5%.

The escalation in fighting between the U.S. and Iran has disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving oil prices up 12.7% so far this week and increasing fuel costs for metal producers.

U.S. stock market futures meanwhile slid on renewed attacks in the Gulf and a selloff in chip stocks, while President Donald Trump’s accusations that China meddled in U.S. elections fanned trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.

COMEX copper was down a steeper 1.9% to $6.22 per lb, with the White House yet to announce a proposed import tariff on refined copper.

“Without a clear directional catalyst from tariffs, we see copper trading lower in the coming months due to lackluster industrial demand and a relatively benign hit to supply from the US-Iran conflict, despite concerns about sulphuric acid availability,” BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note.

Tight inventories were nonetheless keeping a floor under prices. LME copper stocks slipped below 300,000 tons to 296,625 tons, the lowest since March, and almost 56% are cancelled warrants unavailable to the market.

In China, Shanghai Futures Exchange copper stocks fell 20.3% from last week to 79,909 tons, the lowest since August. The Yangshan premium, a gauge of Chinese appetite for copper imports, remained at $95 a ton on Thursday, its highest since May 2025.

Elsewhere, aluminium fell 1% to $3,153 a ton, zinc slipped 1.6% to $3,536.50, lead lost 0.2% to $1,868.50 and tin shed 1.4% to $52,250.