Copper prices reached USD 8,436 per tonne on Monday February 15, the highest level in 8 years
Copper prices resumed their rally on Monday, reaching their highest level since 2012, amid concerns over a market deficit caused by tight supply and strong demand for the industrial metal. There has also been speculation that more factories in China, the world’s largest consumer, have remained open during the Lunar New Year holidays, keeping demand for copper high during what is normally considered a period of downturn. industrial.
Copper contracts rose 1.0% to $ 3.8265 per pound (about $ 8,436 per tonne) as of noon EST on ExCom. The base metal is on track for its 11th consecutive monthly gain and is up over 8.8% year-to-date.
According to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Grant Sporre and Andrew Cosgrove, assuming their scenario of 5% demand growth is close, production forecasts for the top 25 copper producers indicate that the market could be in a significant deficit this year. .
For analysts, aggregate mining supply forecasts are more than 400,000 tonnes lower than BI estimates, suggesting a shortfall of nearly half a million tonnes.
Copper “is fueled by a cocktail of positive factors – including rising inflation expectations spurred by the US stimulus, a weaker dollar and historically weak stocks,” said Gavin Wendt, senior resources analyst at MineLife Pty. .
“The copper production outlook for 2021 will likely be negatively affected due to covid in a number of major South American producing countries,” Wendt added.
