The copper industry is still reeling from its crisis of plummeting prices, but hope is on the horizon and a recovery is underway albeit a gradual one.
According to a recent report from Reuters, falling prices led to a reduction in output, but industry executives announced this week in a meeting in Chile, a top producer nation of the metal, that any recovery will be a slow one. According to Reuters, Chilean Mining Minister Aurora Williams told the conference,
The market seems to have left behind its worst moment, although it’s very premature to anticipate a new cycle of high prices.
Arnaud Soirat, copper and diamonds unit chief at Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) added that copper prices could receive support from external factors, including pending mine closures and ore grade decline. Forecasting a small deficit this year, he told Reuters,
Copper’s long-term fundamentals are quite positive, and we expect to see further demand growth from emerging markets.
Copper Prices on Upward Trajectory?
Reuters also reported that copper consultancy CRU is projecting copper prices to trend upward over the next 3-4 years.
Said Vanessa Davidson, director of copper research,
We expect pressure on costs to continue…but we see copper prices rising faster than operating costs, ensuring that profit margins increase.