Soaring demand for copper will help drive mergers, BHP CEO says
Demand for copper, a key element in the energy transition, is set to rise by 70% to 100% by 2050, Mike Henry said
The copper price rose on Friday on signs of some industrial recovery in China.
Copper for delivery in December rose by 1.9% on the Comex market in New York, reaching $3.64 per pound ($8,008 per tonne).
[Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices]
“From a short term perspective, we’ve managed to hold above a very key area of support, which has given a little confidence back to the market,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.
LME copper has bounced after touching an 11-month low of $7,856 on Monday to nudge above the 21-day moving average on Friday.
Profits at China’s industrial firms extended gains for a second month in September.
“What was a pretty tough month has been somewhat mitigated by those announcements from China,” Hansen added.
Despite the recent gains, it will be a struggle for copper to rally further, he said.
“There are still the economic worries about not only China, but the wider world, we have not seen anything which could trigger a meaningful extension to the upside.”
Also supporting metals was a pause in a rally in the dollar index, making greenback-priced commodities less expensive in other currencies.
(With files from Reuters)
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