A brief summary on the other keynote addresses at Shanghai Metals Market's 2020 Nonferrous Metals Industry Chain Annual Conference, which was held in Suzhou on December 3-4.

Copper prices are expected to move higher amid recovering global economy and ample market liquidity.

Prices of minor metals are expected to improve after experiencing the downturn after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The rebound in copper prices was attributable to the recovery of demand and supply trends in China since Q2, said Rio Tinto's Laure Baratgin.

In order to achieve a sustainable future, mining giant BHP urges for greater transparency in the pricing mechanisms in the copper market.

Production cost of global copper ore is expected to rise in the future amid new inflation cycle, lower raw ore qualities and improved concerns on environmental protection and mining safety, according to Yang Bing, SMM consultant.

SMM is the first non-ferrous metal pricing platform in China that has passed the independent audit of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) financial index standard in 2020. This is also the first year that the China leading pricing provider has achieved the ISOCO standards.

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the possible impact of de-globalization, the metals market is likely to face new challenges, especially in the scrap sector, according to commodities veteran Andy Homes.

The long-term metals demand, specifically copper may be greatly underestimated by the market, said Javier Targhetta, Senior Vice President Marketing & Sales of Freeport-McMoRan and President, Atlantic Copper.