Monthly Copper MMI® Increases 2.1% to 99

This month’s Copper MMI® rose by two points from January to February, to reach a value of 99 – a 2.1 percent increase. Nearly all of the metals contained in the Copper MMI increased – the only exception being the Japanese primary cash copper price.

MetalMiner has recently published a pair of articles outlining the supply and demand forecast for copper. The gist of the articles suggest that supply will remain strong (something that we haven’t historically seen for copper). The real question, in terms of where prices will go, will be answered depending upon what copper demand will do.

“Despite lower paychecks for most US workers in January, the economic fundamentals appear solid at least for the first six months of this year,” said Lisa Reisman, managing editor of MetalMiner. “The automotive market, housing starts and manufacturing activity all remain buoyant, which signals at least respectable demand for copper.”

China will see greater growth in 2014 than in 2013, and the US may experience the exact opposite, according to some analysts.

Primary Price Drivers of Copper Index

After dropping the previous month, the price of US copper producer grade 102 prices rose 3.4 percent to $4.55 per pound. The 3-month price of copper closed the month up 3.2 percent on the LME at $8,168 per metric ton.

For the second month in a row, the Chinese copper cash price increased, rising 2.8 percent over the past month to CNY 59,700 ($9,600) per metric ton. After dropping the previous month, the price of Chinese bright copper scrap prices rose 2.1 percent to CNY 48,760 ($7,841) per metric ton.

The Copper MMI® collects and weights 12 global copper metal price points to provide a unique view into copper price trends over a 30-day period. For more information on the Copper MMI®, how it’s calculated or how your company can use the index, please drop us a note at: info (at) agmetalminer (dot) com.