Copper pulls back from record on fading US tariff concerns and firmer dollar

By Tom Daly

LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Copper pulled back from a record high on Thursday on a stronger dollar and easing concerns over the potential imposition of U.S. tariffs on the metal.

Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.6% at $13,108 a metric ton as of 1702 GMT, having touched a record $13,407 on Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had opted against imposing tariffs on rare earths, lithium and other critical minerals. Copper is on the U.S. critical minerals list and faces a potential 15% import tariff from 2027 but was not mentioned in Trump's statement.

"If there's a dial down in desire to put tariffs in right now for the other metals, that reduces the risk for copper as well," said WisdomTree commodity strategist Nitesh Shah. "So maybe there's a little bit of premium coming off there."

The premium on the cash LME copper contract over the three-month forward CMCU0-3 has eased to about $28 a ton, from roughly $90 on Tuesday, indicating less urgent need for metal.

A stronger dollar .DXY was also weighing on prices. A firmer U.S. currency makes dollar-denominated metals more expensive for buyers with other currencies.

Zinc CMZN3 was up 1.1% at $3,310.50 a ton after touching $3,355 for its highest since February, 2023. Even so, the cash LME zinc contract was trading at a discount of around $27 a ton against the three-month forward CMZN0-3.

"I don't think going forward we're going to have particularly tight supplies," Shah said of zinc.

Lead CMPB3 added 1.1% to $2,100 a ton, having hit its highest in almost 10 months, while tin CMSN3 dropped 2% to $52,060 after Wednesday's record peak of $54,760.

Nickel CMNI3 slid 0.8% to $18,525 after touching a 19-month high in the previous session in a bullish start to 2026 for base metals, while aluminium CMAL3 fell 0.6% to $3,166.50.

"It's very difficult to look at these kind of very parabolic upside price moves and think that they're sustainable," said BNP Paribas senior commodities strategist David Wilson.