(Aug 20): Copper held above US$14,000 (RM56,808) a tonne in the aftermath of the US Treasury’s surprise intervention to rein in borrowing costs.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ordered a big ramp-up in purchases of long-dated government debt in a fresh push to contain soaring yields and help the US economy. That lent support to copper, which had been under pressure as a short-term supply crunch began to ease this week.

Copper was 0.2% higher at US$14,075 a tonne at 12.08pm Shanghai time, while aluminium was slightly lower and zinc and lead inched up.

Lower Treasury yields tend to weaken the dollar, which can offer support to commodities including metals by making them more attractive for buyers in other currencies. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady on Thursday after slumping to a three-month low the day before.

Copper has had a turbulent week on the London Metal Exchange (LME), with prices and spreads flaring higher due to a historic supply squeeze fuelled by low inventories before this was blunted by the arrival of large tonnages on Tuesday and Wednesday to LME warehouses.

“Overall, market sentiment is very volatile at present, and we need to watch changes in the macro environment and copper tariffs,” Jinrui Futures Co wrote in a note.

Inventories of copper in LME warehouses had been drained by a surge in shipments to the US, driven in large part by higher prices there in anticipation of President Donald Trump announcing import tariffs.

Iron ore fell 0.7% to US$95.30 a tonne, while yuan-priced futures on the Dalian COmmodity Exchange were down 2.7%.

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