Copper rebounds as inventories, stock markets stabilise

Copper prices bounced on Friday after a sharp decline in the previous session as stock markets stabilised and the build-up of inventories slowed. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained 0.8% to $14,190 a metric ton by 1000 GMT, having slid 1.9% to a five-week low in the previous session. Metals markets were supported as a rout in global tech shares eased after concerns over the enormous funding needs of AI had hammered Wall Street. "Today we've got the Nasdaq futures bouncing after that sell-off yesterday and that's probably why we're seeing some metals investors getting back in," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen. Investors were still nervous and there was the risk of further losses in copper, especially if prices broke below the September low of $13,925, he added. Worries about excess inventories abated after daily data showed on Friday that LME copper stocks rose by 800 metric tons, having jumped by a fifth over the past week to 273,750 tons. In China, inventories in warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange tumbled by 26.5%, weekly data showed on Friday. Investors were still concerned about the overhang of stocks in the United States, which has attracted huge flows of copper due to speculation about the government imposing tariffs, Hansen said. "That massive pile of copper in the US is clearly weighing on prices given the risk of re-exporting that copper into the rest of the market," Hansen said. Nickel was the worst performer on the LME, giving up 1.8% to $15,825 a ton as traders awaited clearer signals from Chinese companies considering coordinated output cuts at their Indonesian operations. The International Nickel Study Group last week forecast a small global surplus this year, reversing an earlier deficit forecast. Among other metals, LME aluminium dipped 0.1% to $3,007 a ton, zinc gained 1.1% to $3,710, lead was little changed at $1,898 and tin rose 1.3% to $50,715.