Copper prices fell on Tuesday as tensions escalated in the Middle East, raising concerns about global growth and demand on industrial metals, while a stronger dollar weighed further on prices.
Copper three-month futures at the London Metals Exchange fell 0.1% to $9697 a ton.
Global markets edged lower while oil prices rose as the Iran-Israel fighting entered its fifth day, raising concerns about a wider regional conflict.
The dollar also gained ground today, making the greenback-denominated commodity futures costlier to holders of other currencies.
Future Outlook
In a memo, Citibank expects copper prices to drop to $8800 a ton in the third quarter of the year if the US imposed tariffs on copper imports.
US President Donald Trump ordered an investigation into the possibility of imposing tariffs on copper imports in February.
Currently, copper COMEX futures are trading at $4.806 a pound, raising its price premium over London contracts to $898 a ton.
As for Other Metals:
Aluminum rose 0.4% to $2522 a ton
Zinc fell 0.5% to $2643 a ton
Nickel shed 0.1% to $15,055 a ton
Tin lost 0.6% to $32,385 a ton
Lead slipped 1.2% to $1983 a ton
Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.5% as of 15:35 GMT to 98.4, with a session-high at 98.4, and a low at 98.02.
On trading, copper September futures fell 1% as of 15:31 GMT to $4.84 a pound in American trade.
