CAPITAL MARKETS

Copper at 32-month high

Monday was another positive session for base metals, while gold and iron ore were also strong movers

Kristie Batten

This article is 8 years old. Images might not display.

LME copper rose by 1.5% to US$6551.25 per tonne, or $2.97 per pound, the highest price since December 2014.

Zinc’s modest $2/t rise meant it reached a new 10-year high.

Nickel was the biggest mover, surging by 3% through $11,000/t for the first time since March.

Nickel’s closing price of $11,263.50/t was the highest price since December.

“Rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles are shifting to use more and more nickel,” Norilsk Nickel head of global sales and marketing told Bloomberg late last week.

“A lot of people don’t fully grasp what this development means for refined nickel.”

The gold price rose to $1296.80 an ounce ahead of Donald Trump’s televised address to the US people on Afghanistan and South Asia at around lunchtime Australian time.

The Metal Bulletin iron ore spot price rose by another 2.6% to $79.93/t, its highest level since early April.

“The iron ore stocks at Chinese ports are coming down and that’s been a trend for about three or four weeks now,” Fortescue Metals Group CEO Nev Power told reporters yesterday.

“That’s a positive sign.”

[amcsv id="232391" type="commodities"]

TOPICS:

Expert-led Insights reports and Analytics tools built on robust data, rigorous analysis and expert commentary covering mining Risk, Projects, ESG, Leadership, and Investor Sentiment.

Expert-led Insights reports and Analytics tools built on robust data, rigorous analysis and expert commentary covering mining Risk, Projects, ESG, Leadership, and Investor Sentiment.

editions

World Risk Insights 2025 (feat. MineHutte ratings)

A detailed analysis of mining investment risks across 120 jurisdictions globally, assessed across six risk categories and an industrywide survey.

editions

ESG Index 2025: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Index provides an in-depth evaluation of the ESG performance of 60+ of the world’s largest mining companies. It assesses companies across 10 weighted indicators within 6 essential ESG pillars.

editions

Leadership Insights 2025

Leadership Insights reveals key trends in priority mining issues through interviews with 15+ top mining company executives and an industrywide survey.

editions

Mining IQ Risk Analytics

Risk Analytics offers interactive access to World Risk Insight data, allowing you to customise risk views, benchmark jurisdictions, explore data behind scores and read expert commentary to guide your decision-making.