On August 19, U.S. equities fell for the third consecutive day overnight, technology stocks broadly declined, commodities diverged—oil prices rose while gold and copper fell—how should this be interpreted?

The primary driver was the rise in long-end U.S. Treasury yields. Higher discount rates weighed on valuations of technology stocks—which rely heavily on distant future cash flows—triggering broad declines. This was compounded by investors proactively reducing positions to hedge against risk ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes. Crude oil strengthened independently, buoyed by supply risks emanating from the Middle East. Gold—a non-yielding asset—fell as rising real interest rates increased its holding cost. Copper, which reflects global demand expectations, weakened in tandem with diminished industrial demand outlooks amid higher interest rates. This was not a broad-based flight-to-safety episode, but rather a sector- and asset-specific repricing driven by rising interest rates.

Today’s copper price | October 15, 2026 — Latest quotations for Shanghai copper, LME copper, premiums/discounts, and inventories

Today’s copper prices: SHFE night session closed down 0.81% at RMB 110,110/ton; LME copper closed down USD 88 at USD 14,490/ton. Overnight, a stronger U.S. dollar and sell-offs in U.S. chip stocks dampened risk appetite, sending nearly all London Metal Exchange metals lower; Shanghai copper followed suit. Domestic spot copper prices remained elevated: on October 14, SMM’s average price for Grade 1 electrolytic copper stood at RMB 111,500/ton. Spot premiums/discounts narrowed sharply—and even turned into discounts—due to concentrated arrivals of imported copper and a steep backwardation structure, both suppressing premiums. High copper prices restrained downstream consumption, limiting procurement to essential, immediate needs. On the inventory front, domestic social inventories accumulated post-holiday, while LME copper inventories declined to 228,000 tons. I. Today’s Quotations 1) SHFE Main Contract (Night Session Close): RMB 110,110/ton, down. Source: Shanghai Futures Exchange, SMM, Shanghai Metals Network 2) Shanghai Spot Copper (Average Price for Grade 1 Electrolytic Copper): RMB 111,500/ton, up. Source: SMM, Changjiang Nonferrous 3) Guangdong Grade 1 Copper: RMB 111,700/ton, up. Source: South China Storage, China Nonferrous Network 4) Premium Copper Premium (Premium Copper Discount 20–Premium 20): RMB 0/ton, down. Source: Shanghai Metals Network, Changjiang Nonferrous 5) Parity Copper Premium (Parity Copper Discount 120–Discount 50): RMB –85/ton, down. Source: Shanghai Metals Network, SMM 6) Leach Copper Premium (Leach Copper Discount 180–Discount 150): RMB –165/ton, down. Source: Shanghai Metals Network 7) LME Main Contract (Three-Month Copper): USD 14,490/ton, down. Source: LME, Cailian Press 8) LME Copper (Official Spot Settlement Price): USD 14,741/ton, unchanged. Source: LME, China Nonferrous Network 9) COMEX Copper (Front-Month Contract): USD 6.726/lb, down. Source: CME, WenHua Finance 10) Shanghai Copper Social Inventory (Weekly Data): 66,500 tons, up. Source: SMM 11) Jiangsu Copper Inventory (Weekly Data): 19,800 tons, down. Source: SMM 12) SHFE Inventory (Weekly Data): 58,744 tons, up. Source: Shanghai Futures Exchange 13) LME Inventory: 228,000 tons, down. Source: LME, Cailian Press 14) COMEX Inventory: 714,520 short tons, up. Source: CME, Everbright Futures Note: Units are specified individually for each item; ensure unit standardization before cross-commodity or cross-grade comparisons.

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