Copper Prices Rise, Ignoring Middle East Tensions, on Track for All-Time High

Copper Prices Surge to Record High Amid US-Iran Tensions

Copper prices are heading for their highest-ever close, outpacing other metals as traders shrug off the apparent deadlock between the US and Iran. The London Metal Exchange's all-in gauge of prices ended last week on a record high, with five of the six main contracts posting gains.

The upward momentum from last week carried into Monday, despite US President Donald Trump rejecting Iran's latest peace proposal as "totally unacceptable" at the weekend. Metals rose along with equities in Asia, suggesting investors are not greatly concerned about a serious escalation. The market has moved on from the impact of the US-Iran conflict, and copper has its own distinct price trend now, driven by factors such as tight supply and declining inventories in China.

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Industrial metals are also getting a boost from China's robust exports, with the April headline figure rising 14% from a year earlier. This includes booming shipments of clean-tech goods, which tend to be copper-intensive. Demand for metals for the energy transition and defense, coupled with supply headwinds, will boost copper's resilience in a worst-case scenario that entails a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Citigroup Inc. analysts.

Copper was up 0.2% to $13,600 a ton by 12:53 p.m. Shanghai time, while aluminum gained 0.6% and nickel rose 1.6%.