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 in London traded at the widest contango since at least 1994 as inventories expand and demand concerns persist amid a slowdown in global manufacturing.
The cash contract changed hands at a discount of $70.10 a ton to three-month futures on the London Metal Exchange on Monday, before rebounding partially on Tuesday. That’s the widest level in data compiled by Bloomberg going back almost three decades. The structure known as a contango indicates ample immediate supplies.
Copper has been under pressure since prices peaked in January as China’s economic recovery lost momentum and global monetary tightening hurt the outlook for demand. Copper inventories held at LME warehouses have jumped in the past two months, rebounding from critically low levels.
“We are seeing invisible inventories being released onto the exchange,” said Fan Rui, an analyst with Guoyuan Futures Co., who expects stockpiles to continue rising, leading to a further widening in the spread.
While Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sees low inventories supporting prices of copper, a barometer of the economy, Beijing Antaike Information Development Co., a state-backed think-tank, said last week the metal’s downward cycle could last through 2025 because of a contraction in global manufacturing.
China’s CMOC Group Ltd.’s shipment of its previously stranded copper stockpiles in the Democratic Republic of Congo has contributed to rising supply on the market, according to Guoyuan’s Fan.
Copper was 0.3% lower at $8,120.50 a ton on LME as of 11:20 a.m. in London, after closing at the lowest level since May 31 on Monday. Other metals were mixed, with lead up 0.8% and nickel down 1.2%.
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