Copper continued its upwards charge, hitting the highest level in 22 months, as investors bet that curtailed mine supply will struggle to keep up with resurgent global demand.

Copper has found itself strongly positioned after a mine-supply shock late last year that is now combining with stronger-than-expected demand as global manufacturing demand picks up.

Futures on the London Metal Exchange have risen more than 12% so far this year and are trading at the highest level since June 2022. Copper rose as much as 2.5% to US$9,578 a ton by 9.23am in London.

Investors have been focusing on signs of a recovering industrial sector in China and expectations for global interest rates to drop, while disruptions at major mines have pressured margins at the the Chinese plants that account for more than half the world’s supply, raising the prospect they will reduce output of refined metal.

Production concerns were first fuelled by Panama’s order late last year to shut a giant First Quantum Minerals Ltd mine, removing roughly 400,000 tons of the metal from the world’s annual supply. The outlook for supply tightened further after Anglo American plc announced it was scaling back output by about 200,000 tons.

The market initially shrugged off these cuts as consumption looked anaemic. But that’s changed as manufacturing - a key demand driver for copper - shows signs of picking up around the world.

Copper’s run has coincided with a wider commodities bull run. Gold is currently trading at a record high, while zinc is trading at the highest level in a year.

A broad gauge of base metals hit a one-year high earlier this week, joining gains registered by other commodities including crude oil. For base metals, the sector’s revival has come as the US economy shows signs of sustained resilience, while macroeconomic prints from China point to stabilisation.

  - Bloomberg