Copper prices were headed for their first weekly drop since June, despite steadying on Friday, after falling steeply in the previous session on a Reuters report that the White House had not made a decision on imposing a tariff on the metal.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.1% at $14,221 a metric ton as of 0930 GMT. It fell more than 4% from a record high of $14,875 on Thursday and was on course to end the week down 1.4% after a 10-week winning streak.
"Heavy volume on the decline suggests the move reflected meaningful risk reduction," Sucden Financial said of Thursday's drop. Underlying fundamental tightness has not disappeared, in the brokerage's view, "which should limit the extent to which (the) move develops into a subsequent selloff."
Available LME copper stocks were steady at 117,600 tons, but in top metals consumer China, Shanghai Futures Exchange inventories fell for another week, plunging 13% to 54,780 tons, their lowest since January 2024.
Stocks on the U.S. COMEX exchange continued to creep up despite a drop in the U.S. copper premium.
The spread between the cash LME copper contract and the three-month forward flipped into contango on Thursday, a market structure where future prices are higher than those for prompt delivery, pointing to easing concerns over near-term availability. It was last trading at a $14-a-ton discount.
"Copper stocks remain tight geographically and moving significant amounts of money should take some time," Al Munro, senior base metals strategist at Marex, said by email. "So we see the potential for further tightness in the months ahead but in the here and now it's all about risk management."
The entire LME complex was in the red as rising borrowing costs roiled markets. Aluminium fell 0.8% to $3,265.50, zinc slipped 0.3% to $3,879 and lead lost 0.2% to $1,896.
Nickel and tin both shed 1.1% to $16,475 and $53,675, respectively, with nickel touching a two-month low and lead its weakest since July 28.
