Copper futures fell to around $5.90 per pound on Friday, marking a second consecutive session of losses after China announced a crackdown on high-frequency trading as part of broader efforts to reduce risks in its capital markets. Chinese regulators instructed mainland exchanges to remove servers operated by high-frequency trading firms from their data centers, as these firms often place servers as close as possible to exchange systems to gain a speed advantage in trade execution. Copper and other metals traded in Shanghai, London, and New York saw sharp declines, moving further away from record highs. The red metal also came under pressure this week after the US decided to defer tariffs on critical minerals. Copper had been added to the US critical minerals list last year due to its importance in national security, defense technologies, and grid electrification.
