Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Copper prices paused their rally on Friday but were set to end the week with a 6.6% gain on hopes that a weaker dollar and China’s dismantling of covid-19 restrictions will lift demand.
China’s zero-covid policy stifled metals demand from the world’s biggest metals consumer. The abandonment of the policy, however, has caused a wave of covid-19 infections likely to last for two to three months.
Copper for delivery in March fell 0.1% on the Comex market in New York, to $4.19 per pound, or $9,218 per tonne.
[Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices]
“(But) most investors are looking through that turbulence at the potential for Chinese copper demand to move markedly upwards,” said WisdomTree analyst Nitesh Shah.
“Above $10,000 (a tonne) should be easily in reach,” he said, adding that copper supply is likely to remain tight this year.
A central bank official on Friday pledged further support for manufacturers and small companies.
China’s 2023 copper consumption is projected to rise 4.4% to 14.8 million tonnes, Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research said.
Read More: Copper exporters to benefit from China reopening, AllianceBernstein says
(With files from Reuters)
