Fitch Solutions has predicted that copper prices will rise to an average $6,900 per tonne in 2019 before reaching $7,100 per tonne in 2020, with tight fundamentals and record-low warehousing stocks underpinning the market.
"Tight fundamentals, underpinned by record-low [London Metal Exchange] stocks and improving market sentiment as the probability of a US-China trade agreement rises have boosted copper prices so far this year," the group wrote in market commentary released on Thursday March 14. LME copper stocks hit 111,775 tonnes on March 12, the lowest level since standing at 105,600 tonnes in early August 2007. Stock levels rebounded somewhat later in the week, reaching 186,425 tonnes on March 14.Meanwhile, the LME's three-month copper contract...