Copper holds despite record European premiums

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Copper held largely steady on Wednesday, though record premium offers for next year's European deliveries underscored supply shortages outside the US market.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.14% to $14,440 a metric ton, while the most-traded November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.58% to 109,820 yuan a ton, as of 0330 GMT.

European copper buyers face record premiums for 2027 as concerns mount over tightening supplies outside the United States.

Chile's Codelco has quoted $350 per metric ton for next year's deliveries, compared with $325 in 2026, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Germany's Aurubis NAFG.DE has also lifted its premium by about 10% to an all-time high of $347, with the announcements coinciding with the metals industry's annual LME Week gathering in London.

The premiums, added to benchmark LME prices, come as tariff uncertainty continues to draw copper into the US market. Shipments have flowed towards American warehouses since Washington launched an investigation into copper imports in February 2025, leaving COMEX facilities holding roughly 70% of global exchange-visible inventories.

The Yangshan copper premium , a gauge of China's appetite for imported copper, was largely stable, despite the rise in the European market. It was at $138 on Tuesday, up from $137 a day prior.

Meanwhile, China's refined copper output rose 1.1% from a year earlier to 1.26 million tons in September, while January-September production grew 3.3% to 11.28 million tons, official data showed on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, 94 of 100 economists polled by Reuters expect the Federal Reserve to hold rates in October, but all foresee a December increase, against fewer than half in the previous poll.

The US dollar continued to weaken, which supports commodities denominated in the greenback by making them more affordable for buyers using other currencies.

Among other LME metals, aluminium rose 0.43%, zinc added 0.08%, lead gained 0.03%, nickel advanced 1.77% and tin climbed 0.47%.

On the SHFE, aluminium gained 0.09%, zinc rose 0.16%, lead was unchanged, nickel jumped 2.56% and tin advanced 1.99%.