Copper slips as LME stocks rise and Chile mine strike ends

Copper prices edged lower on Monday, October 19, as higher warehouse stocks and the end of a strike at Chile’s Centinela mine eased concerns about supply. Economic Times Markets reported that benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.1% to $14,385 a metric ton by 10:16 GMT.

Available copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses reached a two-month high of 147,450 tons after US warehouses received inflows of 8,225 tons, according to daily exchange figures cited in the report. Workers at Antofagasta’s Centinela mine also ended a strike that had begun on October 7.

Tariff risk continues to redirect copper

The inventory increase comes after months of declining copper stocks outside the United States. Traders have redirected shipments towards the US ahead of possible tariffs on refined copper imports, a shift that helped push prices to a record $14,875 a ton on September 10.

Daniel Ghali, identified in the report as Deutsche Bank’s head of metals research, argued in a note that the tariff threat reflects a wider strategic response to national-security concerns about concentrated critical-mineral supply chains, rather than an isolated policy risk.

Ghali also cautioned that removing tariff uncertainty would not necessarily prompt substantial exports from the US: shipping costs and other market frictions would still discourage those flows.

China offers mixed demand signals

China, the largest consumer of metals, showed an uneven economic picture. Growth recovered from a three-year low in the third quarter, supported by stronger exports, but the property sector remained weak. New-home prices declined again in September, prolonging a slump lasting more than three years.

Aluminium was unchanged at $3,000 a ton. China’s primary aluminium output reached a quarterly record during July–September as smelters kept operating rates high despite a government ceiling on capacity.

Other LME metals gained: zinc rose 1.1% to $3,730.50 a ton, lead increased 0.2% to $1,891.50, tin advanced 0.4% to $50,330 and nickel climbed 0.9% to $15,495. These prices represent the report’s market snapshot, not live quotations.