Copper trades at $4.7 per pound

Copper futures advanced toward $4.7 per pound, not far from a record-high of $4.9 per pound hit on May 10th, after a strike by a union of remote operations workers at BHP’s Escondida and Spence copper mines in Chile began on May 27th.

In addition, upbeat US economic data and President Biden’s multitrillion-dollar infrastructure plan lent further optimism to the copper bulls.

On the other hand, China’s manufacturing momentum shows signs of slowing as the official manufacturing PMI grew at a softer pace in May. Overall, given how crucial copper is in the transition to a carbon-free world, demand is due to outstrip supply this year due to a lack of investment by large miners.

Copper is the third most widely used metal in the world. Chile accounts for over one third of world’s copper production followed by China, Peru, United States, Australia, Indonesia, Zambia, Canada and Poland.

The biggest importers of copper are China, Japan, India, South Korea and Germany.

Source: Trading Economics