Copper hits highest in more than a week as China returns from holiday

LONDON: Copper prices rose to their highest level in more than a week on Tuesday, propelled by positive sentiment and firmer demand in top metals consumer China, where markets reopened after a holiday.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.8% to $13,100 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading after touching its highest since February 12 at $13,196.

LME copper, which slipped 0.7% on Monday, has gained 22% over the past three months, but is well below a record high of $14,527.50 hit on January 29.

“The tariff announcement over the weekend, that’s at the margins positive for the metals markets because it’s better for China,” said Alastair Munro, senior base metals strategist at broker Marex.

Some investors believe the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs will benefit China, highlighted by a rally in Chinese stock markets.

READ MORE: Copper retreats from one-week high as inventories rise

Munro noted there were signs that physical demand in China is also picking up, with the Yangshan copper premium, which reflects demand for copper imported into China, jumping 60% on Tuesday to $53 a ton.

The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 0.8% to close daytime trading at 101,510 yuan ($14,728.88) a ton on the first day of trading after China’s nine-day Lunar New Year break.

Copper inventories in LME-registered warehouses rose another 1,350 tons to 243,175, data showed on Tuesday, the highest since March 2025, having surged by 71% so far this year.

“What’s going to be crucial is for us to start to see those stocks start to dissipate, maybe not this week or next week, but in the next three, four weeks,” Munro said.

LME nickel climbed 2.9% in official activity to $17,780 a ton, its strongest since February 12, as Indonesian officials considered revoking the environmental permit of PT QMB New Energy Materials, a nickel and cobalt joint venture led by China’s GEM.

Among other metals, LME aluminium rose 0.4% to $3,101 a ton, zinc gained 0.9% to $3,383, lead added 0.1% to $1,953 and tin advanced 2.5% to $48,890.