BENGALURU- London copper prices were subdued on Tuesday, after a sell-off in the previous session, due to a firmer US dollar and as uncertainty over potential US tariffs weighed on the market.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was little changed at $8,995 per metric ton after hitting a more-than-two-week low on Monday.
The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) gained 0.6 percent to 74,150 yuan ($10,174.26) a ton.
The US currency was buoyant, making dollar-priced metals costlier for holders of other currencies.
Markets are concerned about President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed import tariffs, which could harm global economic growth. His pledges might also disrupt the global metal demand-supply balance and potentially lead to price fluctuations.
“We forecast base metal prices to trend lower across 2025 and 2026, with the LME index down by 2.7 percent in 2025 and 10.1 percent in 2026, with weaker activity in China the key driver,” NAB analysts said.
China is the top consumer of industrial metals. The mood in China’s manufacturing sector has been depressed for months due to tumbling producer prices and dwindling orders, but recent data suggest the stimulus announcements are improving sentiment on factory floors.
