Published: Sunday, September 4, 2022
(23 May 2021)Copper prices reached an all-time high of $10,512 per metric ton on May 9, marking a 130% growth since March 22, 2020. The consensus forecast from three leading sources (IMF, World Bank, and the Australian Government) for 2021 is $8,357. The average year-to-date price as of May 20 was $8,915, which means the forecasts do not reflect an expectation of further increases over the second half of the year.
The copper price growth over the course of the past year was driven primarily by the high demand from China, the top copper consumer, as well as growing optimism about the overall economic recoveryin view of COVID-19 vaccine rollouts. The demand for copper is expected to rise further amid rising concerns about low copper inventories.
Copper is the most widely used metal in energygeneration,transmission infrastructure, and energy storage. It is the next most used metal after aluminum and steel in the construction, telecommunications, transportation, and automobile manufacturing sectors.
Here are the copper price forecasts issued by each of the leading international agencies:
- The World Bank estimated in its commodity forecast report that the spot price for copper will average $8,500 per metric ton by the end of 2021. The price is expected to decrease to $7,500 in 2022 and then grow to $8,250 by 2035.
- The IMF projects the growth of the copper price from an average of $6,174 per metric ton in 2020 to $8,313 in 2021, followed by a gradual decline to $7,600 per metric ton by 2026.
- The Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources of Australia also expects the price of copper to rise sharply to $8,257 in 2021, with a slight decrease to $7,724 in the following two years and consequent growth to $8,876 by 2026.
Price forecasts for other critical commodities:
gold|silver|aluminium|nickel|zinc| coal| natural gas | crude oil
