Copper prices are soaring globally due to increasing LME cash prices

Copper prices have remained high globally as the Copper Monthly Metals Index (MMI) rose 3.5 percent month over month, staying in a narrow trading range. Lesser number of inventories amidst a shortage in supply due to extended hostilities between Eastern European Nations globally two-folded the impact on the Copper market. Also, the unexpected risk of storing inventory, and dramatic price variations caused industrial customers to purchase opportunities. Traders, on the other hand, used this range to scalp prices to gain better netbacks. This means they take rapid positions to profit from price volatility in Copper. As a result, industrial buyers are exposed to risk and also hesitant on whether to hedge or reduce their purchases which strengthened the wait-and-see sentiments amongst the producers in the domestic market.

Whereas, China's strict COVID regulations in Shanghai, halted the supply chain and the ports are congested with traffic exceeded by 500%, amidst the restricted onloading and offloading activities at the ports. Additionally, the Chinese Copper scraps prices rose by 3.4% per MT while Copper bar prices declined by 3.3% per MT. Whereas in South America, Peru's administration has imposed uncertain taxes on mining activities since 2021, which led to strongly opposed by the local miners. According to Peru's domestic players, the current profit from the mining taxes settles nearly 51%. Meanwhile, for Chile, it is about 41%, furthermore, Peru's authorities remain focused on surplus profits rather than primary targets. The market players in Peru are less ambitious about the new push and the activities were temporarily hampered by the ongoing protests.

In India, Copper prices witnessed an upward trend, and inflating outgrowth is primarily backed by the increasing LME cash settlement prices. The LME cash settlement prices settled at USD 10,400/tonne, a weekly increment of 0.80%. However, the Copper Armature Scrap prices settled at USD  9,820/tonne today, soaring by USD 38/tonne. Moreover, the primary Copper wire rod and secondary Copper wire rod costs were assessed at USD 11,110/tonne and USD 10,470, up to USD 48/tonne and USD 75/tonne weekly. India's leading Copper producer, Hindalco's production of Copper, declined by nearly 12% month-on-month in February compared to production in January. Additionally, Hindalco's annual production decreased by roughly 5.14 %. Nonetheless, Vedanta subsidiary Sesa Sterlite Ltd. (SSL) witnessed a stable Copper production trend.

As per ChemAnalyst, "Copper prices are expected to showcase a marginal increase in trend due to inventory depletion and supply shortage. However, the demand for Copper is expected to be stable this year. The sanctions imposed on Russia by Western nations and China's strict regulation policy to curb the spread of COVID-19 hindered the supply chain. Thus, it is anticipated that the Copper prices will eventually increase in the nearby terms”.