Why Copper Prices Are Falling Despite China Paying a Record Premium

Copper prices slid to a one-week low on Friday even as Chinese buyers paid a record premium of more than $200 a ton to import the metal. Bloomberg linked the decline to a tech selloff and oil at its highest since April, according to BeInCrypto. Three-month LME futures fell 1.4% to $14,154.50 a ton, below the September record of $14,875, while China’s copper inventories dropped more than 25% to 54,356 tonnes. The premium has more than doubled in 3 months as physical supply tightens, with expected US tariffs diverting copper to the country; Guangzhou Futures Co. cited doubts about AI spending.