Copper prices hit a fresh two-year high on Monday (July 31), closing the month 7 percent higher at $6,347.11 per tonne. The rise was supported by upbeat Chinese data, supply disruptions and a weaker dollar.
Recent news about a potential Chinese ban on some copper scrap imports sent signals of a possible demand boost for refined copper later this year. On top of that, Chinese data shows that although there was less manufacturing activity in July, the factory sector is still expanding.
“Confidence in a second-half slowdown is somewhat softening and this is then reflected in a more positive assessment of industrial metals given they are so closely related to the Chinese economy,” Carsten Menke, an analyst at Julius Baer, told Reuters.
China is the world’s top copper consumer, and has imported about 23 million tonnes this year.
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