Copper falls as weak China data, Mideast impasse weigh

Copper slipped on Tuesday, off a six-month high hit in the previous session, as the market digested a string of disappointing economic data from key consumer China and the expiry of the U.S.-Iran temporary ceasefire deal. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.13% at $14,139.5 a metric ton by 0700 GMT. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.97% to 107,930 yuan a ton. "Weaker-than-expected economic data in China weighed on sentiment across the base metals sector," Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said in a note. China's factory output grew 4.5% in July from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, declining from June and missing expectations. Fixed-asset investment in the country, which includes investment in key copper-consuming sectors like real estate and infrastructure, contracted 6.7% in the first seven months of 2026, compared with an expected 6% decline. China's demand for imported copper has already been weighed down by higher prices. The Yangshan copper premium fell to $85 a ton on Monday, its lowest in over a month, though the premium remained nearly twice as high as at the start of the year. Elsewhere, Brent crude increased as negotiations to end the Middle East war remained at an impasse. Pricey crude could raise inflationary pressure and force higher interest rates, dampening economic activity and weighing on growth-dependent commodities like copper. Nickel edged up after an Indonesian presidential spokesperson said the country's planned exchange for mineral and strategic commodities would likely include the metal. On the LME nickel added 0.15%, and on the SHFE it added 0.44%. Among other LME metals, aluminium dipped 0.15%, zinc lost 0.7%, lead was steady, and tin dipped 0.13%. Among SHFE metals, aluminium dipped 0.15%, zinc lost 0.73%, lead added 0.28%, and tin lost 1.27%.