Copper gains as US, Iran agree to renew talks after strikes

Copper gained on Monday after Iran and the United States agreed to halt tit-for-tat attacks and return to diplomacy.

The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 1.32% to close daytime trading at 103,160 yuan ($15,186.44) a metric ton. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.34% to $13,403.50 a ton as of 0700 GMT.

Iran and the United States agreed to halt recent hostilities in the Gulf and renew talks regarding their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a US official said on Sunday, raising hopes of saving an interim peace deal.

The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important energy shipping route. Any disruption there can lift oil prices, stoke inflation concerns and weigh on broader risk appetite.

The dollar added to the previous three sessions’ decline on Monday, providing support for the greenback-denominated commodities by making them more affordable for investors using other currencies. The dollar still holds near a one-year high reached on June 24.

In China, industrial profits grew more slowly in May, although they remained in double-digit territory, official data showed on Saturday. Profit growth at China’s industrial firms eased to 21.1% in May from a year earlier, compared with a 24.7% rise in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

For January-May, profits rose 18.8% from the same period last year, compared with an 18.2% increase in the first four months. Profits in the non-ferrous metal ore mining and processing sector jumped 93.9% in January-May, while downstream manufacturers remained under pressure.

Among other metals on SHFE, aluminium gained 0.68%, zinc climbed 2.45%, lead dropped 0.12%, nickel added 0.24%, tin rose 1.71%.

On LME, aluminium gained 0.46%, zinc rose 0.94%, lead added 0.37%, nickel firmed 0.63%, and tin increased 1.09%.