MARKET COMMENTARY
In May, 3M LME copper traded within the range of $9,125 to $9,664. At the beginning of the month, prices remained weak due to the pressure stemming from the global trade war that began during the Trump administration. However, signs of a possible trade agreement between the U.S. and China supported an upward trend in copper prices. Concerns over supply disruptions at some mines further reinforced this bullish momentum. Additionally, a weakening U.S. dollar and improving sentiment regarding global trade tensions contributed to the rally. As a result, copper ended the month with a 4.07% gain, closing at $9,497.
Copper prices began May with losses, driven by a strengthening U.S. dollar despite expectations that tensions between the U.S. and China would ease. The market ended the first week of the month nearly flat, posting a slight weekly loss of 0.04% to close at $9,356.
After a weak start to the month, copper prices rebounded in the second week. Optimism around the possibility of the first trade agreement following the global trade war initiated by Trump boosted risk appetite. As a result, 3M LME copper closed the week with a 0.89% gain at $9,439.
During the third week of May, copper prices climbed to the month's highest level of $9,664, supported by optimism surrounding a tariff truce between China and the United States. However, concerns over long-term demand for the metal weighed on prices, causing a retreat to $9,430. Copper ended the week with a marginal gain of 0.01%, closing at $9,440.
In the fourth week, prices retreated from their monthly peak seen the previous week due to lingering uncertainty over global economic growth and weaker demand expectations for copper following the trade war. Nonetheless, losses were offset by a weakening dollar and renewed supply concerns stemming from seismic activity at the massive Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Copper ended the week with a 1.84% gain, closing at $9,614.
Production was temporarily halted at the Kamoa-Kakula mine that Africa's largest and one of the world’s most significant copper mines due to seismic activity.
In the final week of May, copper found support after a U.S. federal court challenged Trump’s decision to impose import tariffs. However, the court's later reversal of that stance, combined with a strengthening dollar toward month-end, put pressure on prices. Consequently, 3M LME copper finished the last week of May with a 1.22% loss at $9,497.
