Copper Snaps Four-Day Decline on China Buying Ahead of Holiday

Copper bars at a wholesale metal market in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, Jan 8, 2026. The race for artificial intelligence and surging defense spending are set to intensify a projected shortage of copper as producers struggle to expand, according to a new study by S&P Global. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg Photo by Dhiraj Singh /Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — Copper advanced as some Chinese buyers replenished stockpiles ahead of a holiday, although concerns about global growth persisted with no immediate sign of a resolution to the Iran war.

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Chinese fabricators are restocking before the start of the Labor Day holiday on Friday, helping to elevate copper prices, said Gao Yin, an analyst with Shouhe Asset Management Co. Some market participants also see a buying opportunity after the metal fell almost 3% over the previous four sessions, she added.

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Still, a sweeping crackdown by Chinese authorities on invoicing could reduce some spot copper trading and slow broader inventory draws in the world’s top metal market, according to Xu Wanqiu, an analyst with Cofco Futures Co.

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The market continues to focus on the outlook for the Iran war, with the US signaling it would stick with a naval blockade of Iranian ports as it tries to choke-off Tehran’s oil exports and force it back to the negotiating table. That could prolong disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which have dented the outlook for global growth and inflation.

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Still, most analysts are still bullish on copper over the longer run, pointing to supply constraints and forecasts of higher demand linked to the electrification of the global economy. 

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The prospect of metal moving to the US to preempt the risk of tariffs, continued drawdowns of stocks on the futures exchange in Shanghai, and war-related disruptions to supply chain inputs such as sulfur all stand to benefit copper, Pierre-Alix Favillier, head of base metal options at Sucden Financial said in a seminar Wednesday.

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“If you look at copper from a fundamental perspective, everything is attractive,” Favillier said. The war had weighed on copper by fueling recession fears and creating a less supportive macro backdrop, “but you have to kind of buy dips just because the fundamental story is so good,” he added.

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Copper rose 0.2% to $13,065 a ton on the London Metal Exchange as of 11:10 a.m. local time. Aluminum was little changed, while tin climbed. Nickel eased after a five-day rally following refining cuts in Indonesia, driven by surging sulfur costs.

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