Copper prices have risen to their highest levels in nearly 2½ years, highlighting the strength of China’s economic recovery along with investors’ anticipation that the transition to electric cars will stoke demand for the industrial metal. Prices on the London Metal Exchange, the global benchmark, also have surged. Other industrial metals such as aluminum and nickel also are climbing, lifted by the rebound in China, which is the world’s largest copper consumer and accounts for roughly half of global demand. Unlike the U.S. and Europe, China has largely contained the coronavirus in recent months after the pandemic shut down its economy early in the year. That has allowed commerce and travel to resume lately, driving economic growth and fueling demand for copper and other industrial metals.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 22, 2020 13:31 UTC