Copper market’s biggest whale fuels speculation of a major shift
The world’s single biggest buyer of copper, State Grid Corp. of China, has slowed its purchases of copper wire this year.
MineHub Technologies, which has digitized trade finance and logistics in metals and mining, has signed up Japan’s Sumitomo Corp to use its platform, the companies said on Tuesday.
Online platforms for industrial metals have gained momentum since last year as traders gradually move away from traditional paper-based systems.
Trading house Sumitomo will use MineHub initially for its copper concentrate supply chain, a statement said.
“MineHub is the most mature blockchain-based post-trade platform in metals and mining,” said Takeshi Ishimaru, general manager of Sumitomo’s non-ferrous metals and raw materials department.
Last month, MineHub said global miner BHP Group had subscribed to MineHub and agreed to use the platform.
Sumitomo said last week its net profit for the April-June quarter rose 45% to a record thanks to higher prices of commodities such as coal and nickel as well as strong demand for steel products in North America.
(By Eric Onstad; Editing by Jason Neely)
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