Copper futures edged up to around $4.43 per pound on Tuesday, supported by supply concerns after Chilean miner El Teniente suspended operations due to a tunnel collapse. The mine accounts for roughly a month’s worth of ore supply for Chinese copper smelters, raising the risk of tighter output in an already constrained concentrate market. Despite the supply-side boost, copper prices remain near four-month lows as concerns persist over bloated US inventories. Stocks had been inflated by frontloaded shipments ahead of anticipated tariffs, temporarily boosting domestic premiums. Last week, copper plunged over 20% after President Donald Trump clarified that new tariffs would target only semi-finished products such as wires and pipes, exempting key imports like ore, cathodes, and concentrates that dominate US copper inflows.
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