• Connect with us
    • Information
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Careers
      • Partnerships
      • Advertise With Us
      • Authors
      • Browse Topics
      • Events
      • Disclaimer
      • Privacy Policy
    • Australia
      North America
      World
    Login
    Investing News NetworkYour trusted source for investing success
    • North America
      Australia
      World
    • My INN
    Videos
    Companies
    Press Releases
    Private Placements
    SUBSCRIBE
    • Reports & Guides
      • Market Outlook Reports
      • Investing Guides
    • Button
    Resource
    • Precious Metals
    • Battery Metals
    • Base Metals
    • Energy
    • Critical Metals
    Tech
    Life Science
    Base Metals Market
    Base Metals News
    Base Metals Stocks
    • Base Metals Market
    • Base Metals News
    • Base Metals Stocks
    copper investing

    Copper Prices Up and Down on Mixed Fortunes for Miners

    Scott Tibballs
    May. 01, 2018 04:35PM PST
    Base Metals Investing
    Copper Investing

    Copper prices had an eventful last week of April, hitting a one-month high before descending to a four-week low later on.

    Copper had an eventful last week of April, hitting a one-month high before descending to a four-week low on Tuesday (May 1).

    Near the end of April, copper hit its highest in a month at US$6,986 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange, but fell to US$6,710 on Tuesday (May 1), its lowest price since April 4. The red metal closed at US$6,745 on Tuesday, down 0.9 percent.

    Analysts say that the copper price decline was due to concerns about demand from China, where traditionally demand picks up heading into the second quarter of the year.

    “We think construction activity is going to be more subdued this year because of the curbs on lending by the Chinese government to control the property market bubble,” said Caroline Bain of Capital Economics.

    Another factor impacting prices was a stronger US dollar in the lead up to a US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting on interest rates. A decision is due to be announced on Wednesday (May 2).

    According to FocusEconomics‘ latest report, copper prices are likely to bump along below the US$7,000 level this year, after performing ahead of fundamentals at the end of 2017.

    Supply is expected to rise slightly on new projects and the resumption of operations in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), although longer-term copper output in the DRC could be negatively affected by a recently revised mining law.

    That said, a mild slowdown in Chinese demand is also likely due to tighter credit conditions, although global demand should be solid overall.

    Looking beyond 2018, prices look set to trend upwards on greater demand for infrastructure, electric vehicles and renewable energy. China accounts for almost half of global demand for copper, and was estimated last year as consuming around 24 million tonnes in construction projects.

    Copper production has had mixed news this week, with Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) announcing that a legal injunction blocking the Tia Maria copper asset in Chile from reopening has been resolved, allowing the US$1.4-billion project to inch closer to reopening.

    On the other side of the world, Glencore’s (LSE:GLEN) copper operations in the DRC ground to a halt after freezing orders were placed on them in a spat over royalties with a former partner.

    Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates.

    Securities Disclosure: I, Scott Tibballs, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

    chilechinaelectric vehiclescopper investing
    The Conversation (0)

    Go Deeper

    AI Powered
    Rising copper bars against a financial graph background.

    Copper Price Update: Q2 2025 in Review

    Copper bars with weight stamps, stock market chart background.

    What Was the Highest Price for Copper?

    Latest News

    Forte Minerals Engages Strategic Advisors, Expands Capital Markets Team, and Launches AI-Powered Investor Tool

    Questcorp Mining and Riverside Resources Announce Commencement of Maiden Drilling Program at the La Union Gold & Silver Project in Mexico

    Gold Project Acquisition, Placement and MD appointment

    Cloncurry Gold Project Update

    Results of Fully Underwritten Entitlement Offer

    More News

    Outlook Reports

    Resource
    • Precious Metals
      • Gold
      • Silver
    • Battery Metals
      • Lithium
      • Cobalt
      • Graphite
    • Energy
      • Uranium
      • Oil and Gas
    • Base Metals
      • Copper
      • Nickel
      • Zinc
    • Critical Metals
      • Rare Earths
    • Industrial Metals
    • Agriculture
    Tech
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Cybersecurity
      • Gaming
      • Cleantech
      • Emerging Tech
    Life Science
      • Biotech
      • Cannabis
      • Psychedelics
      • Pharmaceuticals

    Featured Base Metals Investing Stocks

    Blackstone Minerals

    BSX:AU

    Osisko Metals: Pure Potential

    OM:CA

    Los Andes Copper

    LA:CA

    Questcorp Mining

    QQQ:CC

    Cygnus Metals

    CYG:CC

    Redstone Resources

    RDS:AU
    More featured stocks

    Browse Companies

    Resource
    • Precious Metals
    • Battery Metals
    • Energy
    • Base Metals
    • Critical Metals
    Tech
    Life Science
    MARKETS
    COMMODITIES
    CURRENCIES
    ×