Will copper prices hit a record high in the next 12 months?
The chairman of Maike Group, a Chinese metal trader, said on Wednesday that copper prices will soar to historical highs in the next 12 months due to strong demand driven by China's clean energy and years of insufficient investment in global mine supply.
On February 25th, on the London Metal Exchange, the benchmark price of copper, which is widely used in the power and construction industries, hit a nine-and-a-half-year high of US$9,617 per ton, not far from the historical peak of US$10,190 set in 2011, partly because It is optimism about the coronavirus-related fiscal stimulus.
Since then, the price of copper has dropped to around US$8,900, but He Jinbi, who founded Maike in the 1990s, believes that with China, the world’s largest consumer, building a foundation for metal-intensive renewable energy and electric vehicles Facilities, copper and other base metals will experience severe supply shortages in the future and will be affected by capital inflows.
"Copper prices will hit a record high in the coming year," he said in a written reply to a Reuters question.
"The market will gradually accept it because as the global consumer market recovers, there will also be a copper shortage in the European and American markets," he explained, adding that global investment in mineral resources has "severely been insufficient in the past five years." .
Maike’s boss is submitting a proposal at this year’s National People’s Congress, calling for greater coordination on China’s strategic metal reserves.
"Don't pay too much attention to market prices. When to reserve, what to reserve, and how to reserve-these are issues that the relevant state departments should consider."
Yunlan Metal supplies various grades of copper pipes and copper pipe fittings . Copper materials are widely used in various industries. Capillary copper pipes play a significant role in air conditioning, refrigeration, electronics and other industries.
