Copper climbs to decade high

While rising close to its $US10,190 record, copper closed at $US9990 on Thursday.

Demand has risen due to economies rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe.

In April, Goldman Sachs stated that “copper is the new oil”, anticipating a demand increase by as much as 900 per cent (8.7 million tonnes) by 2030.

“The critical role copper will play in achieving the Paris climate goals cannot be overstated. Without serious advancements in carbon capture and storage technology in the coming years, the entire path to net zero emissions will have to come from abatement – electrification and renewable energy,” Goldman Sachs stated in the report.

BHP president minerals Americas Ragnar Udd stated that electronic vehicles (EVs) would use four times as much copper as petrol cars.

“Policy signposts for rapid EV adoption were distinctly favourable over the last 12 months and we have revised our internal EV penetration forecasts upwards” Udd said in April.

“These vehicles use four times as much copper as petrol-based cars, and they will also need more infrastructure to connect charging stations to the grid.

A Reuters poll has anticipated that copper prices will likely stall in the second half of 2021.

According to Reuters, Chinese officials have warned a cap will be placed on high commodity prices to prevent inflation.

“We estimate that by-mid decade this growth in green demand alone will match, and then quickly surpass, the incremental demand China generated during the 2000s,” Goldman Sachs stated.

“Ripple effects into non-green channels mean the 2020s are expected to be the strongest phase of volume growth in global copper demand in history.”