Comex copper for December delivery was down 1.2% at $6.5810 a pound in late-morning New York trading on Thursday, putting the contract on pace for a third consecutive daily decline as hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data pushed the dollar higher and rekindled expectations of a Federal Reserve rate increase. That puts the most-active contract 4.5% under the record close of $6.89 reached on Sept. 9. This would be its longest losing streak since June, according to Mining.com.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday that consumer prices rose 0.6% in September, pushing the annual inflation rate to 3.7% from 3.4% in August. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% for the month and 2.6% from a year earlier. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected core readings of 0.2% and 2.5%, according to CNBC.
The report lifted the Bloomberg Dollar Index to its highest level since May 2025, according to Mining.com. The probability of an October rate increase priced into futures jumped to around 50% after the data, then eased to less than 40% later Wednesday, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Fed's next meeting is Oct. 27-28.
London's three-month copper contract slipped 0.9% to $14,360 a tonne in official rings, having dipped as low as $14,289 during the session. Shanghai Futures Exchange's most-active copper contract slid 1.9% to close at 108,940 yuan a tonne.
South Korea's Kospi tumbled nearly 8% on Thursday, tipping into bear-market territory as a memory-chip selloff spread across Asian technology stocks. Supply concerns also eased. At BHP's Escondida in Chile, supervisors on Wednesday signed off on a deal their union had negotiated with the company, ending the possibility of a work stoppage at the globe's biggest copper mine, according to Mining.com.
Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said easing supply worries and the inflation report arrived together and prompted profit-taking, according to Mining.com. Workers at Antofagasta's Centinela mine remain on strike, and Codelco's El Teniente is still shut after a landslide last week.
Copper producers fell with the metal. Freeport-McMoRan stock dropped 2.4%, and BHP stock fell 1.4%. Antofagasta stock fell 6.4% in London after the company said it expects 630,000 to 690,000 tonnes of copper production in 2027, below its earlier range of 650,000 to 700,000 tonnes. Teck Resources stock rose 0.5%. Comex copper is still up about 17% in 2026.
Guangzhou Futures analysts pointed to swelling Chinese stockpiles and elevated prices that are curbing purchases further down the supply chain as factors weighing on near-term demand, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The inflation data followed the Fed's September decision to raise rates for the first time in more than three years, taking the benchmark funds rate to a range of 3.75% to 4%. Gasoline prices rose 9.1% in September and are up 34.2% from a year earlier.
The dollar had already been on course for its longest winning streak in nearly two years as of last Friday, supported by high oil prices and expectations of further Fed increases.