Copper prices rose on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump's extension of a ceasefire with Iran improved overall risk sentiment, although lingering uncertainty over the Middle East conflict capped gains.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.3% at $13,270 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading.
The renewed premium of Comex copper prices over the LME global benchmark, a defining feature of the copper market in 2025, has re-emerged this month, encouraging shipments to the United States.
More copper will flow to the U.S. while the price premium persists until July, when a decision is expected on whether to impose tariffs on the metal, said Kostas Bintas, the global head of metals at trade house Mercuria.
Copper stocks in Comex warehouses are up 2% since mid-April at 544,887 metric tons, nearing February's record high of 545,867 tons. Meanwhile, inventories in the LME system stood at 395,575 tons after recent outflows from LME-registered warehouses in Asia.
At the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland, market participants were largely bullish on copper in the long term, but noted near-term demand risks in the case of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the global aluminium market is already experiencing a "black swan" supply shock due to disruptions stemming from the war, which is expected to result in major shortages this year, according to a top metals analyst at Mercuria.
LME aluminium was up 1.3% at $3,604.5 a ton in official activity. The contract hit a four-year high at $3,672 on April 16.
Nickel rose 0.8% to $18,370,supported by an industry body's forecast of a deficit in the global market this year.
Among other LME metals, zinc added 0.7% to $3,467, lead fell 0.6% to $1,951, while tin gained 0.5% to $50,175.
