Phil Newman, CEO of the CRU Consulting global research consultancy, speaking at the Paydirt 2014 Africa Down Under Conference in Perth, Western Australia, had quite a few things to say about the investing in metals moving forward – especially LME-traded metals.

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According to Mineweb, regarding copper, Newman “reckoned that the supposed 2-million-ton production surplus was rapidly disappearing into thin air and has already come down to a more normal, and much more manageable, half a million tons, while prices appear to be relatively firm at this kind of perceived level.”

Is that really the case? Grab a free trial of MetalMiner’s copper price forecasting here.

Weekly Copper Price Trends

The US copper producer grade 122 price finished as the week’s biggest mover on the weekly Copper MMI® after dropping 1.0 percent and landing at $3.84 per pound. Since last week, the price of the price of US copper producer grade 110 fell to $3.84 per pound after moving 1.0 percent. With a 1.0 percent decrease, the price of US copper producer grade 102 closed the week at $4.03 per pound. The cash price of primary Japanese copper fell 0.8 percent to JPY 758,000 ($7,178) per metric ton after rising 0.3 percent the week before. Prices for Korean copper strip remained constant, closing the week at KRW 9,640 ($9.46) per kilogram.

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Chinese copper prices were mixed for the week. The price of Chinese copper bar rose 0.5 percent to CNY 51,400 ($8,372) per metric ton after falling 2.1 percent during the previous week. The Chinese copper cash price rose 0.5 percent to CNY 51,600 ($8,404) per metric ton after falling 2.1 percent during the previous week. Chinese copper wire prices held steady from the previous week at CNY 50,395 ($8,208) per metric ton. At CNY 44,300 ($7,215) per metric ton, the price of Chinese bright copper scrap did not change since the previous week.

Following a 0.4 percent increase in the week prior, the cash price of primary copper fell 0.9 percent on the LME last week to $6,967 per metric ton. The 3-month price of copper fell 0.7 percent on the LME to $6,950 per metric ton after rising 0.2 percent the week before.

The Copper MMI® collects and weights 12 global copper metal price points to provide a unique view into copper price trends. 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.