Current situation:
- The Producer Price Index for copper tube and fittings was up 5.2% month-over-month (up 2.3% in the last update) and was down 3.7% year-over-year (down 7.5% Y/Y last month).
- Copper closed August 18 at $2.97 ($2.94 last month).
Key factors that could affect supply or price:
- Prices (lb.): 1 year ago - $2.56; 6 months ago - $2.55; 30 days ago - $2.77; Average - $2.59; 12-month price range $2.96 high - $2.10 low.
- Copper reached a two-year high last Thursday. This is being driven by China reopening, a weaker dollar and stimulus expectations. However, that is being tempered by the rest of the world showing negative demand growth. COVID is not disrupting supply as much as feared back in June when both Peru and Chile mines were dealing with COVID outbreaks. Those mines are back online, and analysts are projecting a surplus the balance of the year. All that said, analysts are on the fence with their predictions of where copper pricing is going in the balance of 2020, but many see subdued growth in 2021.
