Copper rebounds from 3-month low as tightness offsets tariff, AI fears

Copper futures in London turned higher on Wednesday after touching a level not seen since August 3. At 1115 GMT, the three-month contract stood at $14,103 per metric ton, a 0.5% gain, after losing as much as 1.5% earlier in the session. Business Recorder reported that election-related worries about US tariffs and artificial-intelligence data centres had initially pressured the metal.

Those concerns were balanced by firm consumption and limited supplies beyond the United States, particularly in China, the largest metals consumer. The Yangshan premium, which reflects appetite for imported copper, was close to $200 per ton, its highest level in more than a decade. A softer US dollar and recovering equity markets also helped lift metals, while prices of aluminium, zinc, lead, nickel and tin rose by between 0.3% and 2.2%.