Copper Slides as Risk Appetite Hurt by Oil Surge, Stock Selloff

Copper extended losses along with other industrial metals as elevated oil prices and a selloff in equities weighed on risk appetite across global markets.

Copper fell 1.2% to settle at $14,309 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, extending an earlier decline as US stocks came under pressure. The Nasdaq 100 dropped · about 1.6% as chipmakers sold off amid renewed concerns over the scale of artificial-intelligence spending.

Oil remained sharply higher with West Texas Intermediate up more than 3% near $91 a barrel despite paring gains after President Donald Trump said the US wouldn’t attack Iran before the November midterm elections. Higher energy costs have fueled inflation concerns and complicated the outlook for interest rates and economic growth. Safe-haven gold was up about 0.7%.

Copper remains not far from record levels, supported by tight supplies, tariff-driven flows to the US and disruptions at mines. Workers at Antofagasta Plc’s Centinela operation in Chile entered a second day of a strike Thursday, with unions warning that the stoppage would begin affecting copper production within about two weeks. The company has maintained its output projections.

Prices are also being supported by restocking and low inventories in China, the world’s biggest consumer, said Wanqiu Xu, senior analyst at Cofco Futures Co.

But recent data has pointed to industrial weakness in the Asian powerhouse, and the broader risk-off mood weighed on metals Thursday. Aluminum fell 2.1% to $3,050.50 a ton and nickel declined 1.2% to $15,553.