Cufe's Copper at Tennant Creek really has to be at the forefront...

Cufe's Copper at Tennant Creek really has to be at the forefront of the agenda now



Copper futures touched a record high of $5.15 per pound before steadying above $5.1 on Monday as strong demand expectations and tight supply, intensified worries about potential shortages.

The Chinese government announced it will purchase unsold housing inventory to combat oversupply and limit defaults for distressed developers. This comes on top of CNY 1 trillion in stimulus through long-dated bond issuance this year, largely aimed at infrastructure.

This magnified bullish bets for copper consumption due to its key role in electrification, from grid-scale energy storage to data-center infrastructure. In turn, low copper availability hampered output forecasts for smelters in China, responsible for over half of global supply.

Hopes of added mine supply are dim, as high costs of committing to new projects drove giant miners to M&A activity instead of new projects, recently headlined by BHP’s second attempt to buy Anglo American.