BUSINESS Copper prices to fall by 5%

BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes
@SunZambian
THE World Bank has predicted that copper prices are forecast to fall five percent in 2022, as mine supplies are expected to increase strongly over the next two years.
Copper prices are currently trading around US$9,832 per a tonne on the London Metal Exchange.
Mine supplies are expected to increase strongly over the next two years, notably from the new Kamoa-Kakula mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as in Chile, Indonesia, Peru, Russia and Serbia.
This is according to the World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook released this month.
It indicated that copper was set to be a main beneficiary of the energy transition, with usage expected to increase for electric vehicles, charging, renewables generation, and grid storage.
It mentioned that the boom would therefore lead to copper prices falling five percent in 2022, after an estimated increase of 51 percent in 2021 as supply increases.
“On the supply side, mine output continued to edge higher despite a three-week strike in Chile, and China released part of its state-owned stockpiles.
“Copper is set to be a main beneficiary of the energy transition, with usage expected to increase for electric vehicles, charging, renewables generation, and grid storage,” the bank stated.
According to the bank, copper prices declined three percent in the third quarter of 2021, the only base metal to fall, and stood percent below its May 2021 peak.
It stated that the softening in prices reflected a slowdown in China’s real estate market along with weaker global auto production.