Copper climbed, recouping some of last week’s losses, as Iranian media reported that the country has ended a military operation against Israel.
Prices rose more than 1% on the London Metal Exchange (LME) after the semi-official Fars news agency cited Iran’s central military command as saying that strikes against Israel have ended. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said both sides were working on a ceasefire after an exchange of strikes that raised fresh concerns about the prospects for peace in the Gulf region.
On Friday, copper dropped the most since March as US equity markets plunged, led by a selloff in technology stocks. Stock markets remained under pressure on Monday, but US futures were pointing higher ahead of the North American open.
Friday’s market-wide selloff came after US jobs growth topped all forecasts, fueling bets that the Federal Reserve will likely raise interest rates this year. Tighter monetary conditions would eventually slow economic activity and reduce consumption of raw materials such as copper and aluminum.
While expectations of US rate hikes may curb rallies in base metals, steady demand will support prices, said Gao Yin, an analyst with Shuohe Asset Management Co.
Inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell to 169,512 tonnes as of Friday, the lowest level this year, indicating that demand linked to electrification continues to support buying in China.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s looming review of whether to impose import tariffs on copper has revived flows of the metal to the country, draining supplies elsewhere.
Copper rose 1% to $13,659 a tonne on the LME in London. Aluminium was little changed, while tin — a key metal for the electronics and semiconductor industry — fell 1.4%.
