“Copper set for rebound as trade tensions ease” Paul Harris, Mining Journal
“The copper price ended 2019 putting on its best spurt since 2017 and reaching an eight-month high of US$2.81 per pound, lifted by news of a thaw in US-China trade tensions and the promise of a deal between the two tariff-warring nations.”
Copper set for rebound as trade tensions ease
Copper rose 6.7% in December. The month saw an average price of $2.74/lb, improving on an otherwise stagnant 2019 for the red metal, which saw an average price of $2.72/lb, down 20c or 7% from its $2.92/lb average in 2018.
“From a more macro point of view, there remains a deep disconnect, relatively speaking, between low prices and low inventories of metal held in warehouses. One does not need to spend a great deal of time doing an in-depth analysis of the markets to see the incongruity, just glance at where inventories were for each [base] metal a few years ago, and where they stand now and you will see our concern,” said copper consultant John Gross in the Copper Journal Monthly Report published in early January.
