Copper price hit 2-year high amid China’s strengthening demand, Chile’s supply crunch

COPPER PRICES JUMPED TO their highest level since June 2018 as the London Metal Exchange trade recorded $7,027 per tonne in trading last week, its highest level since June 15, 2018.

The price surge of the industrial metal is underpinned by a robust Chinese economic growth as the country’s economy continues to register a rapid post covid-19 pandemic expansion in the third quarter, with Its monthly industrial production and copper demand rising from 5.6 per cent in August to 6.9 per cent in September compared to the same months last year.

The recent copper price uptick has also been attributed to supply worries, as industrial action and protest has disrupted supply from Codelco,the world’s largest copper producer that accounts for the major proportion of Chile’s production, while work at Lundin Mining’s Candelaria mine, also in Chile has also been suspended for similar reasons heightening panic buying.

On the other hand, the recent surge in copper prices are raising the prospects for emerging copper explorers and developers particularly, Castillo Copper Ltd, an Australia-based metal exploring company which is embarking on a strategic transformation to morph into a midtier copper group.

Argonaut Resources NL, another Australia-based mining firm is also aiming to attract investors’ attention with its recent share purchase plan (SPP) more than twice oversubscribed with the target subsequently increased from$1.2 million to $2.5 million. Money raised under this SPP and from the recently completed $2.7 million share placement will be used to drill copper targets at Murdie Project in South Australia.

The international copper study group in Portugal predicted this week that global copper mine production is likely to decline by about 1.5 per cent later this year, primarily due to disruptions at the operational level in Chile, the world’s largest copper producer.