Key facts
- Three-month LME copper traded 2.4% lower at $14,000 a tonne in official activity, per Mining.com.au.
- Copper touched $13,883 a tonne, its lowest since August 19, before paring the decline.
- The Yangshan copper premium stayed near $200 a tonne, its highest in more than a decade, per the report.
- China's central bank said it would raise the foreign currency reserves financial institutions must set aside, the report said.
Copper fell for a second day on November 4, 2026, as US stocks dropped after early US midterm results pointed to the growing prospect of a Democratic sweep of Congress.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 2.4% at $14,000 a tonne in official open-outcry trading, according to Mining.com.au, after touching $13,883, its lowest since August 19. The metal fell below its 100-day moving average at $14,054, which the report said reinforced bearish momentum and turned that level into resistance, with initial support seen at the 200-day moving average around $13,589.
ING commodities strategist Ewa Manthey said investors were pulling back from cyclical assets as technology shares came under pressure, prompting questions about how much near-term metals demand would come from AI and data centre investment. The report also cited uncertainty ahead of the US elections and Middle East tensions.
The yuan weakened sharply after China's central bank said it would raise the amount of foreign currency that financial institutions must set aside as reserves, making dollar-priced metals more expensive for buyers in the top consumer, according to the report. Continuing signs of tight physical supply in China limited losses, with the Yangshan copper premium, a gauge of demand for imported metal, near $200 a tonne, its highest in more than a decade.
Among other LME metals, aluminium lost 1.8% to $3,040, zinc dropped 2.2% to $3,808, lead fell 0.7% to $1,892 and nickel eased 1.2% to $15,370. Tin slid 3.6% to $47,895, having hit $47,385, its lowest since mid-April. Aluminium, zinc and lead touched their weakest levels since the second half of October.