On Tuesday (April 22), copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose to a two-week high, mainly supported by the recent weakness of the US dollar. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell to a 15-month low on Monday, and the weak dollar made it more attractive for buyers denominated in other currencies to buy commodities such as copper. As of 9:54 a.m. local time, copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose as much as 1.6% to $9,305 per ton during the session; while copper futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) also climbed to $4.834 per pound (about $10,634 per ton).
The metal market faced turbulence in April as U.S. President Donald Trump’s comprehensive import tariffs triggered global trade uncertainty. Although trade tensions threaten economic growth and, in turn, metal demand, the weaker dollar also provided some support.
The key factors affecting the copper market in the future are as follows:
In a report in March, JPMorgan Chase predicted that starting next year, there will be a supply-demand gap in the global copper market. It is expected that by 2030, the supply-demand gap in the global copper market will expand to about 3 million tons per year, a figure that undoubtedly provides strong support for the long-term rise in copper prices. The widening supply-demand gap will drive copper prices to continue to rise. JPMorgan Chase predicts that copper prices are likely to rise to $11,500 per ton.
