Copper futures climbed above $5.1 per pound on Monday, approaching three-month highs amid hopes that the Trump-Xi meeting this week could result in a trade breakthrough following productive discussions between US and Chinese trade negotiators over the weekend. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Trump’s threat of a 100% tariff was “off the table,” while adding that Beijing agreed to pause for a year its planned expansion of rare earth export controls. The red metal also gained support from ongoing supply disruptions, with Freeport-McMoRan cutting its sales outlook following a fatal accident at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia last month. Production issues at Codelco’s El Teniente mine in Chile, as well as at major sites in the Dominican Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, further fueled supply concerns.
