Copper prices around $7,000 a ton may be “fair value” for 2013-14: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

UNITED STATES October 15 2013 4:31 PM
 
NEW YORK (Scrap Register): Copper prices around $7,000 a ton or $3.18 a pound may be “fair value” for 2013-14, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch in a snippet.

“The mood toward copper at recent London Metal Exchange activities seemed to be not too hot and not too cold. There seemed to be a widely held view that prices around $7,000 a metric ton, or $3.18 a pound, would be “fair value” for 2013-14,” said Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

According to the American Bank, it looks for increased mine supply to push the concentrates market into surplus. However anecdotal evidence suggests quotations for premiums in many regions may rise, with settlements around $112 likely in Europe, above last year’s $85.

“The negotiation power of producers is in our view the result of a tighter than originally anticipated refined market. Year-on-year increases in contract premia highlight expectations that there will either be no metal glut next year…or that any oversupply will be absorbed through inventory financing deals,” BofA Merrill Lynch concluded.