Coming To A Theatre Near You "The world risks “running out of copper” amid growing demand for the metal, paving the way for a spike in prices just as the global economic reopening gets under way, according to commodity strategists at Bank of America.
Inventories, measured in metric tons, now stand at levels seen 15 years ago, “implying that stocks cover just 3.3 weeks of demand,” the strategists said in a BofA Global Research note dated April 30. The bank’s strategists said prices could jump to $13,000 a metric ton (or $5.89 a pound) in the coming months and are forecasting copper market deficits amid further drops in inventory this year and in 2022.
“The fundamental backdrop is so concerning because the global economy is just now starting to open up and reflate,” they said. “If scrap supply doesn’t come through, stocks would deplete by 2024.”