Copper set for first monthly loss since June as AI spending worries weigh

Copper fell on Friday and looked set to end October lower, which would break a three-month run of monthly gains. Business Recorder reported that the London Metal Exchange’s three-month copper contract was down 0.9% at $14,227 a ton by 1058 GMT, after reaching $14,216 earlier in the session; the metal was on course for a 1% monthly decline.

Worries that large investments in artificial intelligence may not deliver adequate returns, along with higher oil prices, weighed on risk appetite. However, copper’s cash-market premium over the three-month contract pointed to limited near-term availability, while China’s Yangshan premium stood near a 13-year high at $205 a ton. Rio Tinto had also paused underground work at its Oyu Tolgoi mine after seismic activity, and border delays were limiting trucks for copper concentrate; tin prices also weakened amid AI-spending concerns.