Copper falls, heads for fifth straight weekly drop on AI rout

Copper reached a near four-month low on Friday as worries about AI investment weighed on sentiment, Business Recorder reported. Three-month London Metal Exchange copper was down 0.5% at $13,519 per metric ton by 1000 GMT, after touching $13,456, its weakest level since July 17. The metal was set for a 1.8% weekly decline, extending its run of weekly losses to five.

Goldman Sachs said copper had fallen about 7% over the past month, largely alongside volatility in AI-related equities, and described the correction as positioning-led rather than a sign of weaker fundamentals. The bank said prices could face pressure if markets anticipate an earlier slowdown in AI capital spending, although construction of data centres continues. In China, copper stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses fell 18.3% to 27,642 tons, while the Yangshan import premium reached a record $285 a ton. Aluminium, zinc, lead and nickel also declined, while tin rose.