Thursday, March 28, 2024

Copper Slides to Five-Month Low

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Copper prices tumbled to a five-month low Monday, weighed down by sliding oil prices and mounting losses on Chinese stock markets.

Copper for July delivery, the most actively traded contract, closed down 3.5% to $2.5380 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest level since Feb. 2. The percentage drop was the largest since Jan. 14.

China decided to suspend new stock sales and establish a market-stabilization fund aimed at fighting off the worst equities selloff in years, as concerns grow among the country’s leadership that the stock-market malaise could be spreading to the other parts of the economy. A series of stimulus measures taken in the last several months has failed to make a dent in the country’s slowdown, leading to concerns that China’s demand for the industrial metal may continue to falter. China is the world’s top copper consumer.

[pullquote]Copper is telling you that there are serious problems in China[/pullquote]

“Copper is telling you that there are serious problems in China,” said George Gero, a managing director at RBC Capital Markets.

Also dragging down copper was a slide in the price of crude oil. The U.S. benchmark ended down 7.7% to $52.53 a barrel on China worries and the possibility that more oil from Iran could hit markets if the country reaches an agreement with its partners in nuclear talks. Tehran wants to double oil exports to 2.3 million barrels a day if a deal is reached and sanctions are lifted, a top Iranian official said.

Big drops in the oil price tend to weigh on copper, as many funds trade the two commodities in a single basket, with a heavier share devoted to oil.

Source:The Wall Street Journal

17 COMMENTS

  1. Tizaiziba Ziko

    Our friends in other countries can plan for all these things, as for Zambia awee our leaders have no Vision at all. They can not even plan how to store water in a dam which is already there.

    • Zambians attitude towards their presidents is like a man who marries and divorces 5 times and still thinks it’s the women’s fault. No idi.o.t, it’s you!

      A successful country takes work from both government and citizens. Changing presidents doesn’t make you better citizens you dunderheads.

      Change your attitudes towards developing your communities and yourselves and you will start to see Zambia evolve into a better country.

    • This is why the mines should just be closed for now.They are a curse on Zambia. Lets us develop Agriculture and our transport infrastructure taking advantage of our central geographic position. We can have a world class airport and all airlines will stop in Lusaka or Kitwe instead of flying to johannesburg.WE can have fast trains connecting the east and west coast ( Mozambique/Malawi to Namibia/Angola. And connecting the South to the North. There is so much we can do if we stop listening to Powers that want to keep us economic slaves. ABASH COPPER!

  2. Nawakwi cracked my ribs with laughter this morning when she said; President “Vodka” Lungu is flying around like a butterfly (chipempele). Indeed by the time he will realise Copper is kaput, that will be too late to grow new colourful wings!

  3. When we said trouble was coming you laughed and insulted us…

    With a president with no vision

    Ati ifintu ni Lungu

    One thing which is good is that a hungry voter is a wise voter

    Off to enjoy a nice German beer

  4. @Nubian Princess the government has to put in place an enabling enviroment through good policies thus why Zambians are complaining right now because that isnt in place.Surely it is difficult to do business in Zambia because fuel is more expensive than in neighbouring countries,electricity tarrifs are high even with load shading,bank interest rates are high ,I guess you still blame that on Zambians and not the leaders.Madam you first have to change your attitude yourself and dont blame anything on Zambians.unfortunately most of our leaders are irresponsible if you aked them to fully account for all monies borrowed they cant and what does that mean.

  5. This is a temporary status and should not worry us much.

    What should be worrying us more is our copper’s low contribution to the country’s GDP. 6% mining royalties is a joke and this is why I also agree with the idea of closing the mines for now to stop continued exploitation by multinationals. If mines are closed, we will get nothing but at least we will know that there is some copper in the ground to be inherited by the future generation of Zambians who will be able to exploit and market it properly.

    It is a fact that China and the rest of the developed countries live off African resources and they will continue to do so for generations to come. If our people collectively stand up and say “no more cheap copper!”, the multinationals will still come.. willy-nilly.

  6. You know you are being taken for a ride when the lows of your main Forex earner are announced very loudly, but the highs are hushed down completely. In early May this year 2015, Copper prices reached US$6,400/Tonne (US$2.86/lb), there was no comment. In January 2011, copper prices reached US$9,800/Tonne (US$4.38/lb), there was no comment.
    To put it in context and help readers understand, in the ZCCM days in the best of times Copper was selling at about US$2,500/Tonne (US$1.10/lb).
    But that aside, as we all know, Copper is a wasting asset. The lack of plan ‘B’ for Zambia when Copper runs out or when other materials like Fibre Optics pushes copper from the World market, is very distressing. Zambia is one step away from a complete disaster, it will make Greece look relatively good.

  7. I agree the mines have very little contribution to our GDP.

    I also agree that we have signed 20 year developement agreements with Vendanta and Glencore exempting them from paying any taxes. The proposed and reversed tax changes only affected FQM and Lumwana.

    BUT without the mines there is no US$ inflow as they still bring in over 70% of export earnings.

    Low copper prices dries up US$ inflows !! Exchange rate depreciation coming unless Chikwanda brings in new eurobond flows against the backdrop of credit rating downgrades and greek bankruptcy which has spooked bond investors considering that apart from Greece, only Zambia has ever defaulted on IMF repayments. Tough times ahead…..

  8. My worry is, if the price keeps on falling, we are in trouble. Our problem is, we are very waste during times of plenty. We have walked this path before, but the moment our situation improved, we threwaway or ignored our good plans.

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