Copper falls after Iran denies talks with US to end war

London copper slipped on Tuesday, giving up part of the previous session’s relief rally, after oil rebounded on news that Iran denied any talks with the US to bring the Middle East war to a close. The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.17% to $12,024.50 a metric ton as of 0700 GMT. On Monday, London copper rose nearly 2% after US President Donald Trump’s comments on “very good and productive” negotiations and the postponement of his threatened strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure by five days. Following Iran’s denial, Brent futures rose above $100 per barrel on Tuesday. The rebound in energy prices, together with firmer US yields and a stronger dollar, added to pressure on industrial metals by raising fears that central banks will have less room to cut rates and that higher fuel costs will sap global growth. The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, however, gained 1.25% to close daytime trade at 94,030 yuan ($13,648.90) a ton. Traders said sentiment in China remained supported by Trump’s decision to delay the strikes and by hopes of improving demand in the top consumer. Analysts at Citi now expect copper to fall to $11,000 a ton in the next three months, compared with $14,000 previously. “We expect industrial metals to grind lower while the Hormuz Strait remains closed, as investors discount Fed rate cuts and cyclical growth expectations and continue broad de-risking across risk assets,” they said. Among other SHFE metals, aluminium nudged 0.04% higher, zinc gained 0.79%, lead ticked 0.18% higher, tin surged 2.94%, and nickel dropped 0.42%. Elsewhere on LME, aluminium nudged 0.03% higher, tin added 0.17%, zinc dipped 0.15%, lead dropped 0.42% and nickel lost 0.98%.

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