Copper falls as LME stocks edge higher and mine supply concerns ease

LONDON: Copper prices fell on Monday as rising inventories and the end of a strike at a major Chilean mine eased supply concerns.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.1% at $14,385 a metric ton by 1016 GMT.

Available copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses rose to a two-month high of 147,450 tons after 8,225 tons of inflows into US warehouses, daily exchange data showed.

Copper inventories outside the US have declined in recent months as traders diverted shipments to the country ahead of potential tariffs on refined copper imports, helping prices to a record high of $14,875 a ton on September 10.

Deutsche Bank’s head of metals research, Daniel Ghali, said the threat of US tariffs is part of a broader strategic shift driven by national security concerns over concentrated critical minerals supply chains rather than a one-off policy risk.

Even if tariff concerns were removed, transportation costs and market friction would continue to discourage large-scale exports from the US, he added in a note.

In top metals consumer China, meanwhile, economic growth bounced off three-year lows in the third quarter owing to higher exports. The country’s property market, however, remains in a downturn. New home prices fell again in September, extending a more than three-year slump.

On the supply side, workers at Antofagasta’s Centinela mine ended a strike that began on October 7.

Among other LME metals, aluminium was steady at $3,000 a ton. China’s primary aluminium production hit a record quarterly high over July to September as smelters maintained high operating rates despite a government-imposed capacity ceiling.

In other metals, zinc rose 1.1% to $3,730.50 a ton, lead added 0.2% to $1,891.50, tin gained 0.4% to $50,330 and nickel gained 0.9% to $15,495.