Copper falls as disappointing China data and Mideast impasse weigh

SINGAPORE: Copper fell off its previous day’s highs on Tuesday as the market digested a string of disappointing economic data from key consumers, China, and the US-Iran truce expired without a longer-term peace deal.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.39% at $14,102 a metric ton by 0300 GMT.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.19% to 107,690 yuan ($15,971.58) a ton.

Disappointing economic indicators from China brought attention back to the demand outlook, after copper prices touched a six-month high on Monday.

“Weaker-than-expected economic data in China weighed on sentiment across the base metals sector,” Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said in a note.

China’s factory output grew 4.5% in July from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, declining from June and missing expectations.

Fixed-asset investment in the country, which includes investment in key copper-consuming sectors like real estate and infrastructure, contracted 6.7% in the first seven months of 2026, compared with an expected 6% decline.

China’s demand for imported copper has already been weighed down by higher prices.

The Yangshan copper premium fell to $85 a ton on Monday, its lowest since July 10, though the premium remained nearly twice as high as at the start of the year.

Elsewhere, brent crude increased as the US Iran truce expired and negotiations to end the war remained at an impasse.

Pricey crude could raise inflationary pressure and force higher interest rates, dampening economic activity and weighing on growth-dependent commodities like copper.

Among LME metals, aluminium dipped 0.2%, zinc lost 0.74%, lead dipped 0.11%, nickel dipped 0.17% and tin dipped 0.3%.

Among SHFE metals, aluminium lost 0.38%, zinc lost 0.95%, lead was steady, nickel was steady and tin dropped 1.59%.