Metals Fluctuate as Middle East Escalation Keeps Bulls in Check

Base metals including copper, aluminum and zinc ended the week mixed as Middle East tensions, particularly Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, kept a lid on market optimism. Copper rose about 0.3 percent to around 13,636 dollars a ton on the London Metal Exchange, while aluminum fell 1 percent and zinc slipped 0.5 percent. Despite weekly gains and a roughly 10 percent year-to-date rise in copper, geopolitical uncertainty, prospects of US tariffs on copper imports, and the risk of higher US bond yields continue to cloud the metals outlook.