LONDON: Copper fell for a second session on Thursday, tracking losses in the precious metals complex, as rising inventories and a stronger US dollar weighed on prices.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 1.1percent at USD12,905 per metric ton in official open outcry activity. Copper, widely used in power, construction and manufacturing, earlier fell as much as 2 percent to USD12,783 as industrial metals joined a broader rout across asset classes, including precious metals, where silver shed around 12percent on a firmer dollar and easing US-China trade tensions.
A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Copper inventories also continued to rise, with LME stocks touching 180,575 tons, the most since May 2025. In China, inventories in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses climbed in a seasonal buildup ahead of the Lunar New Year, reaching their highest since April at 133,004 tons. Meanwhile, copper stocks on the US Comex exchange stood at a record 529,962 tons.
“I think there’s no physical shortage of copper today because there’s a lot in the States,” said SP Angel analyst John Meyer. “I strongly suspect the Chinese State Reserves Bureau is releasing some copper” to steady the market after the recent price spike, he added.
Copper prices hit a record USD14,527.50 on January 29. On Thursday, the cash LME copper contract was trading at a discount of USD85 a ton to the three-month forward, suggesting scant demand for the metal in the near term.
China will expand its strategic copper reserves and explore creating a commercial stockpiling system led by state-owned enterprises, a senior official at the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said on Tuesday.
In a broad base metals slump, aluminium fell 1.1percent to USD3,036 per ton, zinc shed 1percent to USD3,276, lead dipped 0.6percent to USD1,954.50, nickel lost 2.4percent to USD16,960 and tin slid 5percent to USD46,100, hitting its lowest since January 9.