SHANGHAI- Copper prices dipped on Tuesday as traders rolled forward-positions in anticipation of expiry and attention shifted towards the unfolding developments around US efforts to end Moscow’s nearly three-year conflict in Ukraine.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 eased 0.1 percent to $9,382 a metric ton. The contract hit the highest in three months on Friday at $9,684.50.
“If the discussions between US and Russia proceed favorably, the likelihood of lifting the ban on metals sourced from Russia will increase, subsequently leading to an influx of Russian metals into the western market,” a trader said.
Russia is a major producer of aluminum, nickel and copper. The LME banned supplies of Russian metals made after April 2024 to its system last year.
Senior US and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia later in the day for the highest-level in-person discussions between the nations in years, ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The spread between the cash LME copper contract and benchmark three-month futures spiked to a premium on Friday for the first time in 19 months, surging to as much as $249 a ton.
It flipped to a discount of $74.5 on the day, after investors and traders finished rolling forward positions ahead of a contract expiry this week.
Meanwhile, three sources told Reuters on Saturday that the US has proposed taking ownership of 50 percent of Ukraine’s critical minerals.
