Copper rose on Friday — and was headed for its first weekly gain this month — on optimism that diplomatic efforts to end the war in the Middle East could bear fruit and prevent a slowdown in global growth.
President Donald Trump pushed back a deadline for Iran to strike a deal or face more attacks. However, it’s still unclear who Washington is negotiating with, and the Wall Street Journal reported that the US was considering sending as many as 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East.
Most industrial metals have fallen this month on expectations the conflict will spur inflation and slow global growth. Aluminum has been the exception, given that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has cut off about 9% of global supply.
“Despite all the claims from the US side, there is hardly any easing of tensions in reality,” said Harry Jiang, a trader with China-Base Ningbo Group Co. “Many traders are taking a wait-and-see approach.”
For aluminum, Japanese buyers agreed to pay the highest premium in 11 years after the Iran war disrupted supplies, a cost that’s likely to stoke inflationary pressure at the factories which use the metal.
Investors are also monitoring the extent of a recovery in Chinese copper demand. The slump in prices has boosted orders from fabricators, and inventories recorded their biggest drop this year at the start of the week.
Copper rose 0.7% to $12,227.50 a ton on the London Metal Exchange as of 7:35 a.m., for a weekly gain of 2.5%. Aluminum was flat, but headed for a 1.7% weekly increase. Iron ore dropped 0.6% to $105.75 a ton in Singapore, poised for its first weekly decline in five.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
