Copper prices have held up relatively well during the first three months of the year. In the view of economists at ING, the upside risks still dominate the copper market in the next quarter.

Copper leans to the upside into next quarter

“Currently, the market still faces large uncertainties around the inflation trajectory and the Fed’s policy path, the Ukraine war and China’s covid battle. Spikes in market volatility cannot be ruled out while liquidity is thin.”

“As a base case, we currently expect the price to average around $10,000 in the next quarter, and a more bullish scenario is for the price to re-test the highs seen back in early March before moderating later this year.”

“The largest downside risks could be that a forceful policy required to curb inflation negatively spills over to financial sentiment and the real economy, and a prolonged covid combat could hurt demand harder as Beijing insists on its current policies on the virus.”