Copper prices dropped as traders weighed murky signals on global growth against US President Donald Trump's latest diplomatic overtures. Investors showed little appetite for risk, pushing the metal lower even as Washington floated hints that progress toward a peace deal with Iran might be within reach. The metal's decline reflects broad skepticism about any quick resolution to geopolitical tensions.

Trump's comments drew a lukewarm reception from markets. Traders treated the diplomatic signals as too vague to justify repricing positions, leaving copper and other industrial metals under pressure. The US-Iran situation, according to market observers, makes the economic outlook "very binary" — either a deal materializes or tensions escalate further, with scant middle ground.

For industrial metals traders, the lack of clarity on Iran is particularly painful. Copper, which typically rallies on hopes of increased trade and infrastructure spending, instead slid as geopolitical uncertainty overwhelmed any perceived diplomatic progress. Without concrete commitments from Washington, markets will likely keep pricing in downside risk.