Copper is an industrial commodity that leads the base metals that trade on the world’s leading nonferrous forward market, the London Metals Exchange. Aluminum, nickel, lead, zinc, and tin prices tend to follow copper higher or lower. Meanwhile, copper’s role as an input in infrastructure building makes it a barometer for global economic expansion or contraction. China is the world’s leading copper consumer, while Chile has long been the top producer.
Copper’s role in green energy initiatives has caused Goldman Sach’s analysts to call the red metal “the new oil.” Copper is a primary input in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and other initiatives to replace fossil fuels. In a May 20 Barchart article, I highlighted copper’s “Pretty fundamentals and ugly technicals.” I concluded the article with the following:
