Copper Prices Slip on LME Amid Rising Inventories and Weakening Chinese Data

Copper prices slipped on the London Metal Exchange (LME) as inventories rose for the second consecutive day, sparking concerns about supply. The metal fell 1.06% to ₹1,368.55 per tonne, weighed down by disappointing economic data from China and rising LME stockpiles.

The LME copper inventory increase of 17,450 tonnes brought the total to 223,550 tonnes, with significant inflows in the US and Hong Kong. Despite this, the market remains tight due to constrained smelter operations and limited concentrate supply.

Chinese economic data pointed to weakening industrial and construction activity, with factory output growing only 4.5% year-on-year in July, below expectations. Fixed-asset investment contracted by 6.7% during the first seven months of this year.

Goldman Sachs sharply raised its refined copper deficit forecast outside the US for 2026 to 640,000 tonnes from 60,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) reported a global refined copper surplus in May but noted that supply constraints remain significant due to smelter outages.