Copper set for third straight monthly gain; aluminium hits two-month low
RING•Copper was down 0.1% at $14,416.50 per metric ton but on track for a 0.9% monthly gain, while aluminium fell 1.7% to a two-month low of $3,160. Copper was supported by improving Chinese factory activity and falling warehouse stocks.
1. Copper supported by demand
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.1% at $14,416.50 per metric ton on Wednesday, but remained on course for a third straight monthly gain, up 0.9%. It gained 7.9% in the third quarter and reached a record $14,875 on September 10. China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 50.1 in September from 49.8 in August, while copper stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses fell 17.8% from the previous week to 38,744 tons, their lowest since January 2024.
2. Aluminium falls further
Aluminium lost 1.7% to $3,160, its lowest since July 29, and extended its decline to a third session. Zinc fell 1.3% to $3,818.50, tin slipped 0.1% to $53,870 and lead lost 1.2% to $1,874.50; nickel rose 0.1% to $15,970.
3. Supply and market outlook
ING commodities strategist Ewa Manthey said expectations of a relatively tight market balance were supporting copper, adding that structural demand trends and constrained supply growth should support prices through the fourth quarter despite uncertainty around global growth and trade policy. A government-commissioned study in Panama recommended negotiating an arrangement that could allow a temporary restart of First Quantum Minerals' Cobre Panama mine to facilitate its orderly closure; the mine has been shuttered since 2023.
