Quick overview

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Metals experienced a decline at the end of a volatile week when news of a Chinese crackdown on high-frequency trading dampened sentiment following intense activity in mainland futures that boosted global prices. Regulators have directed exchanges, including the major metals platform Shanghai Futures Exchange, to remove servers operated by high-frequency traders from their data centers, according to knowledgeable sources.

 

Zinc, copper, and aluminum all dropped in Shanghai and on the London Metal Exchange, which sets the benchmark prices for these commodities worldwide.

Earlier this week, a surge of investor enthusiasm for real assets caused metals to surge higher, with copper and tin hitting record levels in London. As a result, trading volumes on SHFE surged over the past month amid bullish sentiment in Chinese financial markets. The sources say SHFE has instructed brokers to deliver equipment for high-speed clients by month’s end, while others must do so by April 30.

To outperform rivals, high-frequency traders place servers as close to exchange data centers as possible. China’s mistrust of high-frequency trading is longstanding; it aligns with broader efforts by authorities to control futures market volatility. Although they haven’t acted yet, officials have threatened to increase fees for high-frequency traders. After strong gains early in 2026, metals prices were already beginning to level off on Thursday.

At one point this week, copper hit a record above $13,000 per ton, meeting bullish expectations, while tin was up 35 percent year-to-date. On Wednesday, the all-in LMEX Index of six base metals rose, narrowly missing a record.