Copper falls and heads for weekly dip as Middle East weighs on demand outlook

Elsewhere, aluminium CMAL3 fell 1.2% to $3,146 a ton, nickel CMNI3 lost 1.7% to $16,860, zinc CMZN3 slipped 1.8% to $3,528.50, lead CMPB3 edged down 0.1% at $1,870.50 and tin CMSN3 shed 1.5% to $52,350.

COMEX copper HGcv1 was down a steeper 2.1% at $6.21 per lb, with the White House yet to announce a proposed import tariff on refined copper.

"Without a clear directional catalyst from tariffs, we see copper trading lower in the coming months due to lacklustre industrial demand and a relatively benign hit to supply from the U.S.-Iran conflict, despite concerns about sulphuric acid availability," BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note.

Tight inventories were nonetheless keeping a floor under prices. LME copper stocks MCUSTX-TOTA slipped below 300,000 tons to 296,625 tons, the lowest since March, and almost 56% are cancelled warrants unavailable to the market.

In China, Shanghai Futures Exchange copper stocks CU-STX-SGH fell 20.3% from last week to 79,909 tons, the lowest since August 2025. The Yangshan premium SMM-CUYP-CN, a gauge of Chinese appetite for copper imports, remained at $95 a ton on Thursday, its highest since May 2025.

July 17 (Reuters) - Copper prices fell on Friday, tracking equity markets lower, as escalating tensions in the Middle East spurred inflation concerns and cast a shadow over the demand outlook for industrial metals.

Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange was down 1.4% at $13,410 a metric ton in official open outcry activity, after edging up 0.1% on Thursday. The metal widely used in power, construction and manufacturing was on course to end the week down 0.5%.

The escalation in fighting between the U.S. and Iran has disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving oil prices up 13.2% so far this week and increasing fuel costs for metal producers. O/R