Copper bulls may have set the metal's prices up for a fall in 2018 after a staggering December rally saw prices reach four-year highs, market analyst told Metal Bulletin.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper price ended 2017 up 30.8% for the year having peaked at $7,312.5 per tonne on December 28. Concerns that up to 40% of global copper mine supply has the potential to be disrupted through labor contract negotiations this year sparked the December rally; analysts at Barclays have tabled the approximate supply at risk at 7.8 million tonnes. But such a strong reaction gives copper prices little room to rise, while early deals at Chilean mines could see strikes avoided. A downward correction is expected in the short to medium term, analysts said. "What a difference four weeks makes eh?" Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann...