80% Wire and Cable Producers Predict Copper Prices Will Remain Stable

SHANGHAI, Jun. 5 (SMM) – A majority, or 80%, of wire and cable producers contacted by SMM predict copper prices will remain stable in the near term. The high premiums for spot copper leave limited room for declines. However, LME copper inventories remained above 600,000 mt given the excess supplies. Scrap copper will increase upon any sharp rise in refined copper prices, which may also weigh on copper prices. The combination of these factors leads most producers to believe copper prices will unlikely show big swings.

 

10% of producers are bearish, noting that copper prices failed to make a breakthrough despite the tightened supply caused by production cuts recently, indicating a lack of confidence among investors. Thus, caution will define the market recently with investors awaiting further price movements to figure out whether prices will continue falling. 

 

The remaining 10% producers are not sure about copper price trends.