The coronavirus has besieged not only Chinese citizens, but also, it’s economy. Due to the low dynamics, the price of many metals is falling. The economist Epifanio Baca, of Citizen Proposal, said that copper prices took the biggest hit. The metal is often used as a barometer for the world economy. The price of copper fell by about 8% so far in 2020. This indicates that the demand for the metal. It is used for manufacturing from electronic products to automobiles, has cooled as investors withdraw from the riskiest assets.
Baca explained that when the virus appeared, stock exchanges were fell. It was because people took out their investments and started buying dollars. That is why we have also noticed a rise in this currency, he explained.
Copper supplies in the stores monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased to the highest level recorded at this time of year. Logistic limitations within China prevent production from reaching end users, which presses the price of metal even lower.
Copper has dropped from the US $ 2.8 or the US $ 2.7 to just the US $ 2.5 a pound on Friday. Baca said it is a worldwide trend. It is due to the panic of some investors caused by the coronavirus.
Copper will reach the US $ 3 and more in 2020
However, according to Baldo Prokurica, Chilean mining minister, the deadly coronavirus that has shaken the markets since January will not prevent copper prices from rising to the US $ 3 per pound this year.
In an interview conducted Monday at the PDAC conference in Toronto, Prokurica said copper prices should stabilize once the coronavirus issue is over. Nobody has information about how long the coronavirus is going to last. Still, according to the minister, the SARS, an epidemic like the coronavirus, lasted between two to three months. He believes that is what’s going to happen with the coronavirus.
Copper rose to 1.6% during Asian operations on Monday. Prokurica said that the price should be between the US $3 and more, referring as possible factors to the situation of supply and demand and wage negotiations in the mines in Chile.
The Chilean Copper Commission, Cochilco, reduced its price projection to the US $ 2.85 per pound, compared to the previous estimate of US $ 2.90 in January.
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