Copper Prices Hold Firm as Traders Digest Tariffs and Technical Tension

Official market data shows copper prices maintained firmness on July 16, 2025, as major exchanges in London, New York, and Shanghai reported small gains or moderate dips after yesterday’s volatility.

These movements come on the heels of fresh tariffs and tight global inventories, with price and volume data sourced directly from the world’s principal exchanges and visual market trackers.

Spot copper traded on the London Metal Exchange opened steady, registering $9,657.5 per metric ton. The US COMEX market saw copper slip to $5.48 per pound, marking a slight overnight dip.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Futures Exchange settled the active contract at 78,070 yuan per metric ton, reaffirming buyer support in Asia. Market participants remained attentive as volumes stayed elevated, with LME reporting 15,000 lots and SHFE exceeding 21,000 contracts.

Fundamental factors explain this resilience. The US government’s decision to impose a 50% tariff on copper imports, effective August 1, continues to influence trading behavior.

Buyers and sellers on both sides of the Pacific actively positioned to mitigate risk against tariff uncertainties. Recent LME warehouse data confirmed a persistent downtrend in global copper inventories, with stocks holding at 110,475 tonnes. This signals ongoing supply tightness.

Macroeconomic signals affected sentiment as well. The US dollar’s movements, driven by inflation concerns, further motivated cautious hedging, while robust energy prices sustained copper’s role as both a defensive and industrial asset.

ETF inflows, especially into sector-tracking products such as Australia’s WIRE ETF, highlighted that institutional investors are not shunning copper exposure despite market nerviness.

Trading volumes surged by more than 300% over the past week, indicating significant repositioning among traders after the tariff headlines hit the wires.

Technical analysis of the daily and four-hour copper charts reveals a market at a crossroad. On the daily timescale, copper prices remain above all key moving averages, with support holding near $5.18 per pound and resistance looming at $5.75 per pound.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) approached 70 but retreated slightly, reflecting the cooling of last week’s rally and profit-taking visible in recent candles.

Meanwhile, MACD readings displayed positive values but showed a flattening histogram, signaling waning momentum. The four-hour chart shows price consolidation above mid-range moving averages, with Bollinger Bands tightening.

This indicates that volatility declined after the initial tariff-induced surge. MACD on this timeframe tilted negative, and RSI drifted near neutral at 54, which suggested exhaustion of bullish momentum during the night and into the morning.

Market evidence confirms traders now brace for further policy-driven volatility rather than broad-based optimism. The tone remains practical as exporters, importers, and speculators weigh supply risks and adjust trading books ahead of August.

Price action, volume, and sentiment data all underscore that copper’s value story is now defined by tariff realities and diminishing warehouse stocks rather than speculative hype. This mercantile narrative runs through all the world’s copper centers in real time.

Current Price Snapshot (Morning, July 16, 2025)

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