SHANGHAI, Oct 21 (SMM) - Trafigura, one of the world's largest commodities traders, warned that global copper inventories have fallen to extremely low levels.
Speaking at the Financial Times Mining Summit, Kostas Bintas, co-head of metals and minerals trading at Trafigura, said the copper market currently has enough stocks to meet global consumption for 4.9 days, and according to Trafigura's forecast, it is expected to drop to 2.7 days in 2022. Copper inventories are usually calculated on a weekly basis. Copper prices now stand at around $7,400/mt, down about 30% from a record high of $10,000/mt in early March.
The limited inventories raise the risk of a sudden price spike, with traders scrambling to secure supplies if prices fall sharply. While the high US dollar and fears of a global recession have weighed on copper prices in recent months, global metals industry executives said limited supply in the market was still supporting the copper prices.
