Peru’s Congress removes energy and mines minister amid sector protests
Romulo Mucho was removed from his post on Tuesday amid protests from small-scale miners in the Andean nation.
The copper price rose on Tuesday despite concerns over tepid consumption in China.
Copper for delivery in March rose on the Comex market in New York, touching $4.23 per pound ($9,306 per tonne), up 3.1% compared to Monday’s closing.
[Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices]
The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1% to 69,740 yuan a tonne.
Hopes for a demand recovery in China post-covid-19 have supported prices, but some market participants now expect the rebound to kick in by March, disappointing those who had hoped for an early recovery in February.
“There was some demand improvement compared with two weeks ago, but it has not yet returned to normal as the market is sensitive to (rising) copper prices,” said He Tianyu, a China copper analyst at CRU Group.
“Most people think (demand recovery will happen) in mid or late March, or early in the second quarter.”
Higher copper prices have also discouraged some downstream buyers to purchase the metal in large volume, and they are waiting for an economic rebound and supportive policy from the Chinese government to boost demand for their products.
Related: China supply concerns boost aluminum prices
(With files from Reuters)
