Copper rallied and mining equities surged as traders weighed the prospect of a deal to end the Iran war that has clouded prospects for the global economy.
US President Donald Trump said the pact isn’t finalized but an agreement could be signed as soon as this weekend, although there’s been no confirmation from Tehran. Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency published a 14-point draft deal, including a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but that text still requires approval by Iranian authorities, the report said.
The prospect of an end to hostilities triggered broad gains for metals and sent Chinese copper miners including Zijin Mining Group Co. and CMOC Group Ltd. higher amid a spike in trading activity.
An agreement after more than three months of war would offer relief to metals by lifting the outlook for global economic growth. Materials like copper that stand to benefit from growing investment in artificial intelligence, power infrastructure and renewable energy have been trading above their pre-war levels for weeks. Demand for copper in China has proved relatively resilient, while the prospect of US tariffs on the metal also offers upside risk for LME prices.
A more stable macroeconomic environment will help prices rebound toward levels seen earlier this year, said Jia Zheng, trading manager at Suzhou Chuangyuan Harmony-Win Capital Management Co. China’s domestic copper inventories have continued falling and orders from downstream manufacturers have been robust, she said.
Copper rose 1.5% to $13,690 a ton on the LME at 12:10 p.m. local time. Nickel gained 0.8% and zinc rose 1.6%. Zijin, China’s biggest miner of both copper and gold, jumped as much as 9.8% in Hong Kong for its biggest gain since 2023, while CMOC gained more than 14% at one point and Jiangxi Copper Co. rose as much as 10.6%.
Long-term demand prospects for copper are increasingly driving optimism for prices. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. earlier this week delivered a bullish upgrade to its copper forecasts, while adding that a global recession would be a major risk. A plan by Beijing to spend around 2 trillion yuan over the next five years on nationwide computing networks underscored the bullish demand outlook.
With assistance from Jack Ryan.
