Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.88% to $13,479.5 a metric ton on Friday, extending losses across the wider base metal complex.
The decline reflects deteriorating risk sentiment as traders weigh growing macroeconomic headwinds against persistent physical supply constraints.
Reports indicate that more than 20 tonnes of copper have disappeared from circulation in just eleven days, underscoring the fragility of current inventory levels.
This physical tightness contrasts sharply with the broader retreat in industrial metals, which slipped 0.7% to $13,499 a ton earlier in the session.
The divergence highlights a market caught between immediate supply shocks and longer-term demand anxieties.
The price action comes as investors grow increasingly anxious about the Federal Reserve’s policy trajectory.