Unbiased surge recorded in copper: Zambia finds huge reserves

- Global supply will increase due to this: Per capita consumption significantly lower despite growth in copper demand in India!

The prices of non-ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals in the domestic and overseas markets have seen a significant surge recently. Global copper prices were seen quoting a 3-month low after a sharp decline after a recent rally. According to sources in the world's metals market, the Microsoft-backed global Kobold group has unearthed a huge amount of copper in Zambia and there were indications that the amount could be converted into a form of copper mine. This had an impact on the global copper market. Globally, the March futures of copper were quoted at $3.67 to $3.68 per pound. Such prices were last seen in the world market in mid-November last year. In Chile's largest copper mine, the production of copper was recorded up to 1 million tons in 2022, and in contrast to this, the Zambian President hoped that the production figure in the newly discovered copper mine in Zambia could reach up to 6 million tons. New demand from China in the global copper market this year has slowed and market prices have come under pressure. The economy in China is deteriorating. There has been considerable volatility in the property market. China's role in world metals markets has always been key. If China's economy grows, the prices of metals in the world market increase, while the weakness of China increases the pressure on the prices of metals. As the global dollar index fluctuates in the world market, its effect has also been seen to be negative on the metals market. China ranks first among the global copper consuming countries. The PLI index of manufacturing in China has also come down recently.

The stock of copper in China's warehouses has increased. With various data from America coming in recently, the interest rate cut is likely to happen in May instead of March, analysts of the world market are showing. And as a result of this, the global dollar index increased and the global copper prices retreated. In the world market, the price of copper futures per ton was seen to be quoted around 8300 dollars, rising from low to 8200 dollars. The stock of copper in the London Metal Exchange was recorded around 1 lakh 35 to 40 thousand tons recently. Meanwhile, according to sources at the International Copper Association India, copper demand in India has seen an increase of around 15 to 16 percent. These sources said that the demand for copper in infrastructure and electric vehicle industry and clean tech sector in the country has been seen increasing recently. Compared to the percentage of growth in the global demand of copper, such percentage has been seen to be very high in India. In India, the demand for copper cathodes increased to nearly 6 lakh tonnes in the period up to November, and after that the demand was good in December and January as well, according to market informants. During this period, there was a growth of 170 to 175 percent in the import of copper cathodes in the country. The import of copper scrap increased by 55 to 56 percent while the import of copper wire rod increased by 12 to 13 percent during this period. Metals market experts were showing the possibility of sustaining double-digit growth in copper demand growth in India in 2024. However, at the global level, such a percentage has been only 3 percent! However, the per capita consumption of copper in India has been barely 1 kg while the global average per capita consumption has been more than 3 kg. Thus, the possibility of further growth in the demand of copper in India in the coming years is significant. However, domestic production of copper in India has decreased and as a result, it was an exporter in terms of copper till May 2018, sources were saying that it has become a net importer in the subsequent period! Now the players were watching whether the copper production in the country increases further or not.