Copper Declines as Tech-Stock Selloff Dulls Appetite for Risk

(Bloomberg) -- Copper ( HG=F ) fell with other industrial metals, as a selloff in AI-related stocks sapped risk appetite across global markets.

The red metal slipped as much as 0.7% to $14,260 a ton on the London Metal Exchange. Asian shares slid after earnings from major tech companies failed to reassure investors about the durability of the artificial intelligence trade. Copper has benefited from that boom because of its use in data centers and power infrastructure.

Its retreat from last month's record high of $14,875 a ton has also been fueled by doubts over whether the US will impose a tariff on refined copper as President Donald Trump approaches the midpoint of his second term. The prospect of a levy has drawn vast amounts of the metal into US warehouses this year, squeezing supplies elsewhere.

"There is still a great deal of uncertainty around next year's copper supply-demand balance," said Zhenting Zhou, a trader at Hangzhou Chenglian Industrial Co. "Mine supply should improve, US import demand is likely to ease, and China's scrap-copper availability should also recover. There isn't much upside risk for copper," he said.

Still, some concerns remain around supply disruptions. Workers at Canada's largest copper mine, Teck Resources Ltd.'s Highland Valley Copper operation, are threatening to strike as early as Saturday, in the latest sign of labor tensions prompted by near-record prices that have emboldened employees to seek a greater share of profits.

Copper was 0.4% lower at $14,294.50 a ton on the LME as of 11 a.m. in Shanghai. Aluminum declined 0.6% to $3,023.50, while nickel gave up 1% after surging 3.7% in the prior session on the prospect of coordinated output cuts by Chinese producers in Indonesia.

Iron ore fell as much as 1.7% to $89.45 a ton in Singapore, the lowest in almost two years, before paring losses.