Copper climbs to 11-week high on Panama mine risk, shortfall
Copper advanced to the highest level in 11 weeks on concerns over the looming shutdown of a large mine in Panama and amid expectations of a widening ore supply deficit in 2024.
The Panama government has said it will shut First Quantum Minerals’s Cobre operation, which produces about 1.5% of the world’s supply. The mine already suspended output last month as a blockade of boats restricted key supplies amid mass protests from environmentalists and labor unions.
The disruption comes as the gap between demand and supply for copper ore is set to widen next year, according to BloombergNEF. Two key producing regions — Chile and Peru — are facing bottlenecks in increasing output, while demand is rising in China, it said. Copper prices are likely to remain elevated, it added.
Copper climbed 4.4% in November, the first monthly increase since July, as a slew of stimulus in China improved the outlook for commodity demand in the top consuming nation. A weakening dollar also helped commodities priced in the greenback as they became cheaper for buyers in other currencies.
Copper rose as much as 0.5% to $8,507 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, before trading at $8 490 by 11:09 a.m. in Shanghai. Most metals were higher, with aluminum and zinc up 0.2%.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Supplier & Distributor of the Widest Range of Accurate & Easy-to-Use Alcohol Breathalysers
VISIT SHOWROOM
Developed to exceed the latest EN 15964 standards for police breathalysers proving that it will remain accurate and reliable for many years to come.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
