Copper rises on Chile supply concerns and hopes for progress in the Iran war

Copper prices edged higher on Wednesday amid hopes that the Iran war may be nearing an end, while Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, lowered its production forecasts.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.4% to $13,470 per metric ton by 09:35 GMT, after earlier touching its lowest level since May 8 at $13,350.

LME copper had previously retreated from last week’s more than three-month high of $14,196.50, pressured by profit-taking, a stronger US dollar, and concerns over slowing demand in China, the world’s largest metals consumer.

“The limited gains we are seeing today are mainly driven by improved risk appetite across broader markets, supported by lower oil prices and declining bond yields,” said Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.

Oil prices fell around 1% on Wednesday after two Chinese oil tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz, while US President Donald Trump stated that the Iran war would “end very quickly.”

Copper also received additional support after Chile announced lower copper production forecasts, now expecting output to decline by 2% this year, compared with a February forecast that had projected 3.7% growth during 2026.

In other metals markets, nickel on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.3% to $18,745 per ton, as investors monitored Indonesia’s plans to impose greater centralized government control over commodity exports.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said his government would introduce new regulations aimed at strengthening oversight of commodity exports.

Nickel had gained in London on Tuesday due to supply concerns, with the momentum extending into Chinese trading on Wednesday, where the most-active nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.9% to close at 145,390 yuan ($21,368) per ton.

Among other metals, aluminum fell 0.3% to $3,593 per ton, zinc rose 0.5% to $3,530.50, lead was little changed near $1,963, while tin jumped 3.4% to $53,375 per ton.