Copper price falls for third day as US inflation shock, easing Chile strike risk spur selloff

AI desk brief

Copper fell for a third straight session to a 10-day low after hotter-than-expected US inflation revived Fed hike talk, the Bloomberg Dollar Index hit its highest since May 2025, and risk-off in Asian chip stocks spilled into the metals complex. Comex December copper fell 1.2% to $6.5810/lb after an intraday low of $6.5245, leaving the contract 4.5% below its Sept. 9 record close of $6.89; LME three-month copper slipped 0.9% to $14,360/tonne and Shanghai copper lost 1.9% to 108,940 yuan/tonne.

Supply support also eased after Escondida supervisors ratified a deal with BHP, removing the immediate strike threat at the world’s largest copper mine. LME inventories fell to 228,000 tonnes, down 8% this month, but Macquarie said the narrowing Comex-LME spread cuts implied odds of a 15% US import tariff arriving on schedule to about 2%, reinforcing a more defensive setup for the complex.