Benchmark three-month futures dropped almost 4% to near US$13,000 (RM51,191.68) a tonne on the LME, after peaking above US$14,500 on Thursday. Still, copper remains on course for a solid weekly gain, the sixth in the past seven. Copper traded 1.7% lower at US$13,383 a tonne on the LME at 12:36pm in Singapore. The rush into copper — as well as other base metals — lifted the catch-all LMEX Index to a record on Thursday, topping the peak that was set in 2022. The spread between cash prices and three-month futures is more than US$90 a tonne in contango, a bearish pattern.

Source: The Edge Markets January 30, 2026 05:03 UTC