Copper headed for a second straight weekly gain as traders shrugged off the mid-week escalation in Middle East fighting, signaling that supply-side concerns and demand expectations are outweighing geopolitical risk premiums. The metal's resilience comes even as the Iran flare-up introduced fresh uncertainty into global commodity flows.

This price action suggests industrial consumers and speculators are more focused on China's property stimulus measures and tightening mine supply than on potential shipping disruptions. Copper often sells off during risk-off episodes, so the bid tone implies underlying physical tightness that macro headlines cannot easily dislodge.

For investors, the divergence between copper and traditional safe havens highlights a structural shift: the energy-transition narrative is creating a floor under prices that geopolitical shocks struggle to break. Warehouse inventories in London and Shanghai remain near multi-year lows, reinforcing the bullish bias.

Watch whether the LME three-month contract can sustain above the $9,500-per-tonne psychological level next week. A close above would confirm the uptrend; failure risks a quick unwind of speculative longs built on the China-demand thesis.