Most discussions of artificial intelligence (AI) and copper focus on how many more tonnes of copper data centers will need. It is the right place to start, but it misses what may be the more consequential change. AI is bringing into the copper market a new class of buyer with an unusually high willingness to pay. As these buyers account …
Continue ReadingCopper and nickel prices could double over the next decade, driven by the demand in construction, energy transition and electrification, a new report by global financial services firm Coface suggests. Aluminum, copper and nickel could face supply deficits averaging around 10% of demand by 2035 as miners struggle to bring enough new production online. Coface’s industrial metals report is based …
Continue ReadingChina has historically been a significant net importer of refined zinc, but that looks set to change this year. Exports surged to 40 668 tons in August, the second-highest monthly tally in almost 20 years, according to the World Bureau of Metal Statistics, which collects data from official customs figures. With imports slowing to a trickle, the country was already …
Continue ReadingWhile oil prices hog the headlines and gas only gets a mention when winter rolls around, a far more important metal has been quietly flying under the radar – copper. Once we look at the bigger picture, the scale of copper demand becomes hard to ignore. And yet it is copper, right now, that will decide how the whole “green …
Continue ReadingCOMEX-approved warehouses now hold roughly 700,000 short tons of copper, according to CME Group’s latest metals update. At the same time, benchmark copper remains near historic highs, creating an unusual combination of record inventories and expensive metal. September made the contradiction even sharper. Copper briefly moved toward $6.90 per pound before retreating toward $6.70 after reports that prospective U.S. tariff …
Continue ReadingCopper prices edged higher on Friday, supported by a weaker dollar and supply issues, but gains were modest due to worries about high oil prices hitting demand. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.5% to $14,319 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading. That marked a decline of 2% since the end of last week. “Metals have …
Continue Reading“Armenia does not have major oil or gas deposits with significant reserves. Instead, it can rely on substantial reserves of copper, molybdenum and gold, as well as rare elements and critical minerals. Gold, silver, copper, molybdenum and polymetals such as lead and zinc are currently in greatest demand. However, so-called critical minerals are gradually becoming increasingly important,” geologist Arshavir Hovhannisyan …
Continue ReadingCopper held above $14,400 a tonne in London on Tuesday after workers at Antofagasta’s (LON: ANTO) Centinela mine in Chile voted to strike, adding a potential supply disruption to an already tight market. Three-month futures rose 0.2% to $14,446 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange at 12:50 p.m. local time. The metal is on track for a third consecutive …
Continue ReadingDespite strong copper prices, growing investment demands are offsetting much of the gains posted by mining companies in Chile, Moody’s said in a report on Thursday. Chile, the world’s largest producer of the red metal, is undergoing an investment cycle focused largely on maintaining production levels and replacing depleted reserves as large deposits age. Moody’s said that the current investment …
Continue ReadingCopper climbed for a sixth straight session on Tuesday, its longest winning streak in four months, as Chinese buyers stocked up ahead of next week’s holidays and shrinking inventories in Shanghai and London pointed to a physical market that is running short of metal. Comex copper for December delivery, the most active contract, rose as much as 1.6% to $6.8710 …
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