ONE: Copper surges as investors hedge against declining dollar
Copper prices rose today (Wednesday) as investors looked to hedge against the declining US dollar.
Those involved in commodities trading saw the cost of the metal increase by as much as 0.7 per cent, hitting $9,763 (£6110) per metric ton, reports Bloomberg.
As well as problems with US currency, speculation that demand will soon outpace supply also contributed to the increasing desire to purchase copper.
Traders might be interested to learn that the price peak today surpasses the previous high of $9,754 per ton hit on January 4th.
Despite this, experts have suggested that demand for copper in China – the world's biggest consumer – might decline by as much as half this year.
Michael Jansen, metals strategist for JPMorgan Securities, said this could happen as the government looks to curb monetary expansion, reports Bloomberg.
At a recent conference in Shanghai, he said this was down to tighter restrictions on credit and energy availability.
