Copper hits its highest price since January

Copper prices increased for the fifth straight session on Wednesday, to their highest levels since January. Steady demand and a better technical scenario supported the metal.

Over three 3 months, copper, on the London Metal Exchange (LME), gained 2.1% at $5,893 a tonne, after earlier climbing to $5,913.50, its highest since January 24.

Ole Hansen, an analyst at Saxo Bank, stated that a better outlook on fundamentals is driving copper higher. 

Demand for the metal has recovered

China is likely to be the only country in the world whose economy would perform well in 2020. Klaus Kaempfe, the director of portfolio solutions at Credicorp Capital, said that the country’s demand for raw materials, including copper, will grow faster. Chinese economy observes greater dynamism, and it has a high demand for the metal.

What Properties Make Copper Useful?

The world’s production and consumption of the metal have increased dramatically in the past 25 years. This is because large developing nations have joined the global market, so the demand for mineral products, including copper, has progressed. 

South America is the largest producer of copper. The Andes mountains produced around 45% of the world’s produce in 2007, whereas the US produced 8%. 

Copper has properties that make it highly usable in various industries, but especially in emerging and high-impact sectors. Its high thermal and electrical conductivity and zero magnetism make it ideal for transferring data, sounds, and images in telecommunications.

Copper production also leaves some by-products, which companies can sell separately. 

Obtaining the red metal is complex. To leave it in a marketable position requires a series of processes. Unlike other concentrated raw materials, such as oil, copper is distributed over large areas, mixed with a large number of salts and other mineralogical elements. These copper-containing compounds must be properly treated to separate the metal from the rest of the minerals and are classified into two groups. These groups are sulfur minerals and oxidized minerals, divided according to their chemical composition. The metal’s value varies by the consistency of the minerals. 

Much of this material creates waste and accumulates in special places, i.e. dumps, once they have properly separated the copper.

Nowadays, the red metal is necessary for building construction, transmission, and power generation. It is essential for manufacturing electronic products and industrial machinery and vehicles. When it comes to cars and trucks, copper is a critical component for their motors, radiators, wiring, connectors, bearings, and brakes.

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