METALS-Copper hits four-week high, on track for seventh straight monthly gain

By Polina Devitt

LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Copper prices hit a four-week high on Friday and were set for a seventh consecutive monthly gain as demand optimism outweighed concerns over stocks piling up.

Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.4% to $13,355.50 a metric ton by 1700 GMT after touching $13,527, its highest since January 30.

The metal used in power and construction hit a record high of $14,527.50 on January 29 after a wave of speculative buying. Base metals have been also supported by investment demand for hard assets since October, one metals trader said.

The first data release after the end of China's nine-day holiday for the Lunar New Year showed that copper stocks in warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange reached a 10-year high, as end-users slowed buying during the holiday and high prices discouraged some downstream demand.

ShFE copper stocks CU-STX-SGH totalled 391,529 metric tons on Friday, up 44% from two weeks ago. Zinc ZN-STX-SGH and aluminium AL-STX-SGH stocks rose 45% and 20%, respectively.

Even though Chinese copper demand has been subdued since September, the global shift towards renewable energy and emerging demand from data centres are expected to provide support for copper, UBS analysts said in a note.

UBS sees spot copper prices at $15,000 a ton in 13 months, with global copper consumption rising 2.8% in 2026 and the market deficit widening to 520,000 tons this year from 203,000 tons in 2025.

Among other LME metals, tin CMSN3 jumped 6% to $57,435 a ton after rising to $58,390 earlier in the session, its highest since it hit a peak of $59,040 on January 29. Tin is up 42% this year on supply concerns.

Aluminium CMAL3 fell 0.6% to $3,138.50 a ton. The discount for the LME cash aluminium contract against the benchmark CMAL0-3 has narrowed over the past two weeks on concern over potential disruption to supply via the Strait of Hormuz, analysts at Marex said in a note. The discount was last at $12 a ton on Friday, down from $36 on February 17.

Zinc CMZN3 was down 1.8% at $3,318 a ton while lead CMPB3 eased 1.2% to $1,961.50 and nickel CMNI3 lost 0.2% to $17,655.