Copper prices rose on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald ​Trump's extension of ⁠a ceasefire with Iran improved overall risk sentiment, although lingering uncertainty over ‌the Middle East conflict capped gains.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was ​up 0.3% at $13,270 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading.

The renewed premium of Comex ​copper prices ​over the LME global benchmark, a defining feature of the copper market in 2025, has re-emerged this month, encouraging shipments to the United ⁠States.

More copper will flow to the U.S. while the price premium persists until July, when a decision is expected on whether to impose tariffs on the metal, said Kostas Bintas, the global head of metals at ​trade house ‌Mercuria.

Copper stocks ⁠in Comex warehouses ⁠are up 2% since mid-April at 544,887 metric tons, nearing February's record high of ​545,867 tons. Meanwhile, inventories in the LME system stood ‌at 395,575 tons after recent outflows ⁠from LME-registered warehouses in Asia.

At the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland, market participants were largely bullish on copper in the long term, but noted near-term demand risks in the case of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the global aluminium market is already experiencing a "black swan" supply shock due to disruptions stemming from the war, which is expected to result in major shortages this year, according ‌to a top metals analyst at Mercuria.

LME aluminium was up ⁠1.3% at $3,604.5 a ton in official activity. The ​contract hit a four-year high at $3,672 on April 16.

Nickel rose 0.8% to $18,370,supported by an industry body's forecast of a deficit in the global market this ​year.

Among other ‌LME metals, zinc added 0.7% to $3,467, lead fell 0.6% ⁠to $1,951, while tin gained 0.5% to $50,175.

(Reporting ​by Polina Devitt; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Diti Pujara)