伦铜库存激增叠加AI股抛售，铜期货盘前跌约2%，Freeport等铜矿股盘前已跌3-4%

Copper futures fell Thursday as inventories on the London Metal Exchange surged and a global selloff in AI-related stocks sapped risk appetite, according to Bloomberg. Copper dropped as much as 2%, tracking losses in equities markets after earnings from major tech companies failed to reassure investors about the durability of the AI trade; copper is a ley beneficiary of AI expansion because of its essential role in data centers and power infrastructure. Prices are also facing pressure from speculation that the U.S. may abandon proposed tariffs on refined copper; the prospect of tariffs has caused traders to redirect shipments of the metal into Comex exchange warehouses, squeezing supplies on the LME. On-warrant inventories have surged by more than 70K on the LME over the past two days, Bloomberg reported, with the backwardation creating an incentive for stockholders to deliver metal against short positions, rather than rolling those hedges forward at a loss. The resulting collapse in the spread between Comex and the LME has come into sharp focus in the copper market, because it reduces the incentive to ship metal into the U.S. and deliver it into Comex warehouses. Julius Baer upgraded its copper outlook to neutral and raised its three-month and 12-month price targets to $13,250/ton and $14,500/ton, respectively, citing confidence in long-term demand growth thanks to electrification, electric vehicles, and data centers. The U.S. accounts for 6% of global copper consumption but holds ~70% of observable copper inventories, contributing to tightness in other markets, Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke said in a note. On Thursday, LME benchmark copper futures ( HG1:COM ) recently traded down 1.8% to $14,105.50/ton, while aluminum dropped 1% to $3,023.50 and nickel slipped 0.6% after surging 3.7% in the previous session on the prospect of coordinated output cuts by Chinese producers in Indonesia. Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX ) fell 4.2% and Southern Copper ( SCCO ) slumped 3.6% pre-market; other potentially relevant stocks include Hudbay Minerals ( HBM ), Ero Copper ( ERO ), Teck Resources ( TECK ), BHP ( BHP ), Rio Tinto ( RIO ). ETFs: ( CPER ), ( COPX )