The price of copper, a barometer for the global economy, could jump in 2020 with capital spending for new production down and stockpiles tapped out at a time when US-China trade tensions are easing.
The threat of a long trade war limited mining activity and kept manufacturers from adding to their stocks. The result: Inventories at warehouses tracked by the three international exchanges, a last resort for supply, have shrunk by about 37% since July to just shy of 300 000 t as of Friday, equivalent to just 1.2% of global consumption. Meanwhile, mine production fell 0.4% last year from 2018.