EVERY WEEKDAY FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR, TED MAGAZINE IS COUNTING DOWN THE TOP 20 STORIES OF 2021. BELOW, THE #2 MOST-VIEWED STORY OF THE YEAR, ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 14, 2021.

Copper Price Hits New Record High

As copper prices continue to rise to new record levels, at least one analyst now believes we will see these high prices through next year due to a supply shortfall.

As of Friday morning, May 14, copper is trading at $4.66 a pound.

At one point earlier this week, the price was above $4.80 a pound. Looking at the 30-day price chart, copper was trading at $4.04 a pound on April 13, making this a nearly a $1 per pound price increase in one month.

And, when you look at the copper price from May 2020 compared to today, the price has doubled from the price of $2.40 a pound one year ago.

One analyst at Bank of America believes demand for copper will far outweigh supply for the next 19 months. It expects supply to be about 186,000 metric tonnes short of demand this year, and 369,000 metric tonnes short of demand next year. A potential strike by union workers at Chile’s largest copper mine could make that situation worse. Bank of America’s worst case scenario calls for copper prices to rise above $9 a pound next year. But, Bank of America is predicting supply will catch up with demand by 2023.