Copper rebounds as supply risks, China demand lend support

Business Recorder reported that London copper advanced on Friday, erasing much of the prior session's decline as mine outages and robust Chinese demand lent support. The benchmark three-month contract on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.08 per cent to $14,464 a metric ton by 0300 GMT, after shedding 1.15 per cent in the previous session. Over the week so far, the metal has risen 1.44 per cent.

On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most-traded copper contract slipped 0.61 per cent to 110,060 yuan ($16,431.03) a ton, following overnight losses in London. Daniel Hynes of ANZ said in a note that copper sits near record levels, with supply-side problems providing support. The Yangshan copper premium, a measure of Chinese appetite for imported metal, rose to $125 a ton on Thursday, its highest since November 2022, after China ended a week-long holiday.

A workers' union at Antofagasta's Centinela copper mine in Chile said its ongoing strike would begin affecting output in November, when production could drop by half, although Antofagasta had earlier played down the stoppage. Disruptions at other mines have compounded supply concerns, while inventories outside the United States have shrunk as metal is shipped into the country before possible tariffs on refined imports. Separately, the dollar index edged lower and oil prices eased on Friday, factors that had earlier pressured industrial metals.