Global copper short-term outlook July 2023

As we head into the second half of 2023, copper is performing better than the other base metals given its close ties to the broader green economy, but not by much. Base metal prices have been trapped for most of this year between weak economic growth momentum in China, an acceleration in the slowdown of manufacturing across key markets in the rest of the world and rising base metal supply. The highly volatile performance of the world’s economies in the wake of the pandemic and thin summer markets mean that the price will be vulnerable to macro-economic sentiment on the one hand and supply side developments on the other. Indeed, the tug of war that has been a feature of the copper market in recent months shows no signs of abating. Copper could revisit the recent lows if, for example, there was a setback in the efforts to curb US inflation.