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Copper Rallies After Weak US Jobs Report Eases Fed Rate Concerns

Cierra Seay
Published Oct 4, 2026
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Summary:
  • Copper rose for a second day as a soft US payrolls reading reduced pressure on the Fed to raise rates this month.
  • LME copper futures jumped as much as 0.9% on Monday, while Asian stocks moved higher too.
  • US nonfarm payrolls increased by 29,000, coming in below every economist forecast in Bloomberg's survey and trimming hike bets.

Market snapshot

After suffering its steepest weekly drop since March on Friday on signs of industrial strain in China, copper bounced. By 10:27 a.m. in Singapore, the metal was up 0.6% at $14,347 a ton on the London Metal Exchange. Tin added 0.2% and aluminum was unchanged. Singapore iron ore futures slipped 0.3% to $91.05 a ton.

Why prices popped

A 29,000 gain in US nonfarm payrolls fell short of all economist estimates tracked by Bloomberg. That led traders to pull back expectations for a rate increase this month. Higher rates typically pressure assets that do not generate income, including many commodities, so the shift in rate odds helped lift prices.

Copper is one of the oldest and most reliable reads on global industrial demand. Market Briefs tracks the metal free every weekday.

The bigger backdrop

Copper is still hovering near record territory. On the consumption side, buildouts for data centers and renewable energy continue to support demand.

Liquidity and regional tone

Asian equity markets advanced alongside copper. With many Chinese traders away for the Golden Week holiday, activity may be thinner than usual, which could be curbing market liquidity across metals.

When rate expectations ease, industrial metals usually move first. Join Market Briefs free and watch the signal.

Disclosure

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