Copper futures edged down to $4.3 per pound from an over 2-week high of $4.35 hit earlier in the week, pressured by ongoing demand concerns from China as an increase in Covid-19 infections more than offset the announcement of further economic stimulus. Beijing reported a jump in Covid-19 cases over the weekend, bringing the total number of infections to 1,493 since April 22nd while stepping up quarantine efforts to lift a prolonged lockdown in Shanghai on June 1st. Meanwhile, China said it will broaden its tax credit rebates, postpone social security payments and loan repayments, roll out new investment projects and take other steps to support the economy. The latest data showed China's copper imports fell 4% from a year earlier in April, as lockdowns hurt manufacturing activity and consumption. Pressuring prices further was the continued appreciation of the US dollar, making the metal more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Historically, Copper reached an all time high of 5.02 in March of 2022. Copper - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on May of 2022.
Copper is expected to trade at 4.19 USd/LB by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 3.94 in 12 months time.