METALS-Copper eases after touching two-week high

Feb 26 (Reuters) -

Copper eased on Thursday after touching a two-week high in the previous session, with a lack of fresh catalysts and concerns over rising inventories keeping the red metal range-bound.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dipped 0.02% to 102,100 yuan ($14,924.06) a metric ton as of 0330 GMT.

The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange, meanwhile, dipped 0.23% to $13,292 a ton. Copper's dip came after a post-Lunar New Year gain sent the red metal to a two-week high on both the Shanghai and London exchanges. The Shanghai contract hit a two-week high in overnight trading at 102,830 yuan, while the London benchmark reached a two-week high on Wednesday.

The red metal lacks a fresh catalyst to help it break through in either direction, traders said.

Rising copper stocks remained a focus for the industry. Copper sitting in the LME warehouses rose to 249,650 tons, according to the exchange's latest data, the highest since March, 2025.

Meanwhile, COMEX copper stocks saw a dip on Wednesday, down 528 short tons to 601,037 short tons (545251.59 tons), the second time the inventory level dropped in February at a time when a CME copper premium against its peer on the LME largely evaporated.

However, investors remained overall optimistic about copper after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs, and demand optimism picked up amid the reopening of China's market following its nine-day Lunar New Year break.

Among other base metals on SHFE, aluminium added 0.38%, lead nudged 0.06% higher, tin surged 3.52%, zinc dropped 0.55% and nickel shed 0.83%.

Elsewhere on the LME, aluminium dipped 0.21%, zinc tumbled 0.44%?lead dropped 0.23%, nickel lost 0.91% and tin shed 1.21%.

Thursday, Feb 26

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0500 Japan Leading Indicator Revised Dec

1000 EU Consumer Confid. Final Feb

1330 US Initial Jobless Clm 21 Feb, w/e

($1 = 6.8413 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Lewis Jackson and Dylan Duan; Editing by Rashmi Aich)