Copper climbed to a 16-month high on Monday, driven by optimism over a potential U.S.-China trade agreement after officials from the world’s two largest economies outlined the framework for negotiations ahead of their leaders’ discussions.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trading by rising 1.73% to 88,370 yuan ($12,406.29) per metric ton.

It hit 88,700 yuan a ton earlier in the session, the highest since May 2024.

The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.76% to $11,046 a ton as of 0725 GMT.

The London future touched a 16-month high of $11,094 a ton earlier in the session, narrowing the gap with the all-time high at $11,104.5 a ton.

Negotiators from both China and the U.S. reached a framework for a trade deal on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be meeting on Thursday in South Korea.

The framework will pause steep American tariffs on Chinese goods, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, adding that he expects Beijing to delay its rare-earth export control regime by a year and revive purchases of U.S. soybeans.

Chinese top trade negotiator Li Chenggang also confirmed the “preliminary consensus” with reporters.

Most other base metals also gained after the framework was announced.

Elsewhere among SHFE base metals, aluminium added 0.61%, zinc and nickel rose 0.34%, tin surged 1.15%, while lead was little moved.

Among other LME metals, aluminium gained 0.84%, zinc rose 0.41%, tin was up 1.01%, nickel posted sole loss at 0.10%, while lead was little changed.

($1 = 7.1230 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Source: Reuters