Copper Extends Losses in Broad Metal Selloff
2026-02-02 02:17
By
Jam Kaimo Samonte
1 min. read
Copper fell more than 5% to around $5.5 per pound on Monday, hitting one-month lows and extending sharp losses from the previous session as the broader metals selloff continued for a second day.
The red metal is now down about 15% from last week’s all-time high.
On Friday, copper retreated ahead of gold and silver as the speculative rally that pushed prices to record levels met a wave of profit-taking, while investors reassessed the fundamentals behind the surge.
The decline was most pronounced in China, where intense investor interest and market speculation had added froth to the rally, setting the stage for a sharp reversal once sentiment shifted.
US President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh, widely seen as a hawkish choice, also contributed to the drop in metals prices.
Still, copper remains supported by expectations of higher long-term demand amid constrained supply following decades of underinvestment in new mining projects.