(23 May 2021) Copper prices reached an all-time high of $10,512 per metric ton on May 9, marking a 130% growth since March 22, 2020. The consensus forecast from three leading sources (IMF, World Bank, and the Australian Government) for 2021 is $8,357. The average year-to-date price as of May 20 was $8,915, which means the forecasts do not reflect an expectation of further increases over the second half of the year.
The copper price growth over the course of the past year was driven primarily by the high demand from China, the top copper consumer, as well as growing optimism about the overall economic recovery in view of COVID-19 vaccine rollouts. The demand for copper is expected to rise further amid rising concerns about low copper inventories.
Copper is the most widely used metal in energy generation, transmission infrastructure, and energy storage. It is the next most used metal after aluminum and steel in the construction, telecommunications, transportation, and automobile manufacturing sectors.
Here are the copper price forecasts issued by each of the leading international agencies:
Price forecasts for other critical commodities:
gold | silver | aluminium | nickel | zinc | coal | natural gas | crude oil
(9 June 2021) The aluminum price reached the value of $2,534 per metric ton on May 7th of this year, the highest price since the two-year high in April 2018. The consensus forecast for 2021 from three leading sources (the IMF, the World Bank, and Innovation and Science Australia, an advisory board to the Australian government) is $2,072 per metric ton. The rise in aluminum prices is a result of high demand in China and growing concerns that China's new climate policy, which focuses on greenhouse gas emissions reduction, could limit future supply of the metal. In 2020, China...
(28 June 2021) Zinc prices showed 50% growth year-over-year in May 2021, an increase to $2,965 per metric ton from $1,975 in May 2020. The increase followed a two-year decline of 45% from the ten-year high of $3,500 in 2018. The price is currently 11.5% above the 5-year moving average — a figure analysts were not expecting, since zinc demand is declining in the era of COVID-19. Several key supply and demand drivers are playing a role. The upward price drivers are as follows: Disruption of zinc concentrate supplies due to the suspension of large zinc mines as a result of the...
(28 June 2021) Nickel prices were up 44% year-over-year in May 2021, from $12,179 to $17,577 per metric ton. Since the 13-year low in February 2016, nickel prices have been showing strong cyclical growth. The World Bank, in its commodity forecast report, estimated that nickel prices will fall to a low of $16,000 per metric ton in 2022, but they expect the average spot price for nickel will grow slightly further after the correction, reaching $18,000 per metric ton by the end of the year. The IMF's metal cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) report revealed an expected rise from...
(15 June 2021) The US natural gas spot price at Henry Hub, Louisiana — the benchmark price reference for the US natural gas market and an important price reference in global gas trading — will average $3.07 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2021, a 51% increase from the 2020 average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency attributes this year's price growth to rising liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and increasing domestic natural gas consumption outside of the power sector. In 2022, Henry Hub prices are expected to decrease to...
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