While we usually take a deep dive into what the price of copper did for the week in this space, a 48-hour period in the middle of the week really gives a crystal clear picture of the volatility of the price.
Quickly taking you back to the beginning of this week, the price jumped from Friday’s low of $4.05 a pound to a high of $4.30 on Monday, October 4 before settling for the day just below $4.24.
The price hovered in that area for most of Tuesday, October 5 before landing for the day at $4.19 a pound.
And then the 24 hours began.
It started on Wednesday, October 6 with a report of “worries” about a slump in economic growth in Europe. German factory orders were down nearly 8% in August, and with an energy shortage looming, investors started thinking any kind of economic recovery would be smaller and slower than expectations.
As a result, the price of copper dropped 1.4%, at one point touching $4.11 a pound, before settling at $4.14 a pound at the end of the day.
Hours later, on October 7, a completely different report emerged. This time, a supply chain concern over copper mined in Chile brought an immediate spike in the price. A work stoppage at Chile’s largest mine, which as of right now does not appear to have a quick resolution, pushed the price of copper back up to nearly $4.26 a pound before settling just below $4.25.
What happens next?
While the short term remains difficult to predict, most analysts still expect the price of copper to remain above $4 a pound for the rest of 2021. While copper was selling near $3 a pound last October, the price has not been below $4 a pound since last February.
