Copper falls below $6.30 as Freeport-McMoRan remains in focus

Copper dips below a three-month low

Copper futures dropped below $6.30 per pound on Wednesday, November 4, touching their lowest level in more than three months. A later price-panel quote stood at $6.4002, up $0.022, or 0.34% on the day. The source did not specify whether that later quote was an intraday or closing figure.

The commodity remained sharply higher over a year but had retreated over a month. Copper was up 28.82% over the past year, down 2.85% over the past month and about 6% below a September high near $6.80. A data provider’s fourth-quarter forecast was $6.5561, above the quoted market price.

Market pressure accompanies lower copper price

The reported decline came amid renewed selling in technology stocks and concerns about artificial-intelligence valuations. The commentary linked weaker risk appetite toward AI-related stocks with pressure on copper, a metal used in data centers, power grids and other electrical infrastructure.

Investors were also weighing a 79% market-implied probability of a Federal Reserve rate increase in December, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Oil prices fell as signs of diplomatic progress between the United States and Iran eased some Middle East-related cost concerns: crude declined 7.72% to $88.67 per barrel and Brent fell 8.83% to $94.45. Both remained more than 48% higher than a year earlier.

Chile’s output provides supply support

Production constraints offered some support for copper. Chile’s third-quarter copper output fell to its lowest level in at least two decades, and the country projects only a modest production rebound next year.

Freeport-McMoRan, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under FCX, operates El Abra in Chile, Cerro Verde in Peru and seven U.S. mines. Its annual report says the company supplies about 70% of the refined copper produced in the United States. In March 2026, it submitted an environmental impact statement to Chilean regulators concerning a potential expansion at El Abra.

Analyst target was reduced in prior report

In context from an earlier report, Freedom Broker reduced its FCX price target from $75 to $68 while maintaining a “hold” rating. That target represented 10.09% potential upside from the stock price cited in the report.

Freeport-McMoRan reported $0.88 in quarterly earnings per share for the quarter released October 27, above the $0.82 consensus estimate. Its revenue was $7.55 billion, up 8.2% year over year, against a consensus estimate of $7.36 billion. These were reported quarterly results; the analyst estimates and fourth-quarter copper forecast referenced in the coverage were forecasts rather than realized operating outcomes.

What could test the copper outlook

The immediate price reference points were the reported three-month low below $6.30, the later quote near $6.40 and the September high near $6.80. A sustained recovery would require evidence that market pressure is easing, while further weakness would leave the supply outlook in Chile and the implications for major producers such as Freeport-McMoRan under scrutiny.