METALS-Copper eases from 15-month peak as Freeport panic fades

By Tom Daly

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Copper prices eased from a 15-month high on Thursday, as the panic caused by Freeport-McMoRan Inc's FCX.N force majeure at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia began to fade.

Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.7% at $10,263 a metric ton as of 1600 GMT.

It touched $10,485 earlier in the session, the highest since May 2024, as traders rushed to cover short positions after Freeport said it expected its Indonesian unit's output would be 35% lower in 2026 than previously estimated.

Two traders said on Thursday that most of the short covering was done.

Alastair Munro, senior metals strategist at Marex, said copper's dip was partly because buying by Commodity Trading Advisors had slowed and a stronger dollar .DXY.

CTA investment funds are largely driven by computer programmes based on technical signals. A stronger dollar makes metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The tighter supply was shown in the LME forward curve. The spread of the November copper contract over the three-month forward MCUX25-3 flipped into a $4 per ton backwardation on Wednesday, from a $19 contango the day before.

The December contract's spread over the three-month forward MCUZ25-3 moved into an even steeper contango of $21.50 a ton on Thursday, up from $14.70 on Wednesday and only $1.30 on Tuesday.

"Looking ahead, copper prices are likely to remain supported by ongoing supply disruptions, tight concentrate availability, and tight ex U.S. inventories," ING analyst Ewa Manthey said.

Citi in a note anticipated a roughly 400,000-ton copper supply deficit in 2026 and - without a rally in prices - a 350,000-ton deficit in 2027.

Among other metals, aluminium CMAL3 was up 0.3% to $2,658.50 a ton, lead CMPB3 climbed 0.8% to $2,014 and tin CMSN3 gained 0.6% to $34,510. Zinc CMZN3 fell 0.4% to $2,925 and nickel CMNI3 shed 1% to $15,260.