Copper could be the best performing metal of 2022.Last year, the price of copper rose 33%, but that was just the entree.Goldman Sachs reckons the red metal will hit a record US$12,000/t over the next month, up from ~$US9,700/t currently. That’s uncomfortably bullish, but even the more mild mannered analysts are revising their forecasts upwards.White & Case recently conducted its sixth annual survey of industry participants, with 63 senior decision-makers sharing their thoughts on commodity performance for the year ahead. Copper came out on top.
“For the third straight year, our survey has picked copper to be the best-performing metal in 2022, with 31 percent saying it’s set for another year of outperformance,” it said.“The metal, an economic bellwether and a key material for the energy transition, hit record prices last year, breaking above US$10 thousand per ton.”White & Case flagged that minor production losses — from both COVID-19 disruptions and water issues in Chile – have combined with strong industrial demand.“Our respondents’ enthusiasm for the metal is matched by the wider mining industry,” it said.“The biggest miners remain universally bullish on its prospects, with demand expected to surge this decade and new supplies looking increasingly scarce.”
