Copper gains on Chinese demand, tight stocks

Elsewhere, aluminium edged up by 0.35% on the LME CMAL3 and ticked down by 0.37% on the SHFE SAFcv1, as the market digested lower primary production figures.

Global primary aluminium production fell 1.5% year-on-year in June, data from the International Aluminium Institute, released on Monday showed.

The light metal has been buffeted by the Middle East conflict, which disrupted supply from the region, which accounts for around 9% of global primary smelting capacity.

Among other LME metals, zinc CMZN3 added 0.45%, lead CMPB3 added 0.35%, nickel CMNI3 added 0.45% and tin CMSN3 gained 0.77%.

Elsewhere on SHFE, zinc SZNcv1 ticked 0.14% higher, lead SPBcv1 ticked 0.06% higher, nickel SNIcv1 was little changed, down only 0.02% and tin SSNcv1 added 0.33%.

Meanwhile, fighting between the U.S. and Iran escalated, though mediation efforts offset the strikes' impact on energy markets, and non-yielding gold edged up.

The war has weighed on copper by raising inflation and interest rate bets. Higher interest rates weigh on growth-dependent industrial metals by dampening economic activity.

Copper ticked up on Tuesday, supported by fears of supply-side tightness and strong Chinese buying, despite macroeconomic demand worries from the escalation in the U.S.-Iran war.

The benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange increased 0.29% to $13,661 a metric ton by 0300 GMT. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 gained 1.05% at 104,850 yuan ($15,490.65) a ton.