The metal used in power and construction had more than doubled during a rally from March 2020 to May this year, when it hit a record peak of $10,747.50
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange traded up 1% at $10,104 a tonne in official rings. However, prices of the metal used widely in power and construction are down 6% since hitting a record $10,747.50 a tonne earlier in May.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 1.2% at $10,496.50 a tonne in official trading and near last week's record high of $10,747.50.
LME zinc was up 2.4% at $3,085 a tonne after surging to $3,108.50, its highest since June 2018.
Copper prices have doubled in the last year, fuelled by a rebound in demand from top consumer China and other economies after a COVID-19 induced slump.
Funds have raised their bullish bets on LME and Comex copper, according to estimates by broker Marex and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.9% to $8,883 a tonne.
"Copper prices lurched lower after we saw the news about the ship in the Suez Canal," a copper trader said. "There may still be a knock-on effect on costs and there is still a queue, but at least the canal isn't blocked any more."
The main spotlight on cutting emissions from industrial metals so far has been aluminium due to its very energy-intensive production, but copper's wide use makes it important as well, he added.
Copper, the third most consumed industrial metal after iron and aluminium, is used in electric cabling, construction and increasingly in electric vehicles and wind turbines.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange traded up 0.1% at $9,077.5 a tonne in official rings.
Copper and other base metals have struggled to find clear direction in the last few weeks thanks to macro market jitters and the bond market tantrum which caused consternation in cross-asset markets.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.7% to $9,024.50 per tonne in official trading, having touched a 9-1/2 year peak of $9,617 last month.
We are still in a long term constructive environment for copper. Generally commodities are in a bull market given some of structural changes in terms of demand for energy metals.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.2% at $9,112 a tonne.
*Prices have shot up 16% in February, the biggest monthly rise since November 2016, taking gains since the start of 2020 to around 50%.
The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped as much as 2% to 57,620 yuan ($8,895.82) a tonne, a level unseen since Dec. 23, 2020.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged 0.1% lower to $7,818 a tonne, and nickel fell 1.4% to $17,660 a tonne and tin shed 1% to $22,575 a tonne.