metalsinsight

Metals rise despite the Fed, with copper supported by strong physical demand from China

📊 Metals ended the September 14–19 week on a positive note despite the Fed raising interest rates for the first time since 2023. Gold recovered from its post-FOMC selloff, while silver, platinum and palladium outperformed. Copper also gained more than 2%, showing that a stronger dollar and tighter monetary policy did not dominate the entire commodities complex.

🥇 Gold posted its first weekly gain after four consecutive declines. Prices briefly fell to their lowest level in nearly two months following the Fed decision, then recovered as oil prices eased and U.S. Treasury yields cooled. The DXY holding above 100 continued to cap upside, while silver outperformed on support from both precious-metal demand and improving sentiment toward industrial metals.

🔶 Copper was the main standout, rising around 2–2.25% during the week even as speculative funds cut long positions sharply on COMEX. Yangshan premiums climbed to their highest level in nearly four years, refined copper inventories in China remained well below post-Lunar New Year levels, and concentrate treatment charges stayed deeply negative. These signals suggest the rally was driven more by physical demand and tight raw-material availability than by speculative flows.

🏭 Aluminum remained supported by LME inventories falling to a 19-year low, pointing to relatively tight physical supply. In contrast, iron ore stayed below $100 per ton despite stronger Chinese buying ahead of the National Day holiday, suggesting steel demand was not strong enough to lift the entire metals complex evenly.

👀 Next week, markets will watch whether U.S. yields and oil continue to ease, while assessing the strength of Chinese demand after the pre-holiday restocking period. For copper, inventory trends and import premiums remain key indicators of whether the current rally can be sustained.

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