Copper prices to hit record high in next 12 months, China's Maike says

<p style="text-align: center;"><img title="1615430035712219.jpg" alt="4.jpg" src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20210311/1615430035712219.jpg"/></p><p>Copper prices&nbsp;will surge to an all-time high over the next 12 months as a result of strong demand from China&#39;s clean energy drive and years of under-investment in global mine supply, the chairman of Chinese metals trader&nbsp;Maike Group&nbsp;said on Wednesday.<br/><br/>Benchmark prices for&nbsp;copper, widely used in power and construction, hit a 9.5 year high of $9,617 a tonne on the&nbsp;London Metal Exchange&nbsp;on Feb. 25, within striking distance of the all-time peak of $10,190 set in 2011, partly driven by optimism over coronavirus-related fiscal stimulus.<br/><br/>The metal has since eased to around $8,900 but He Jinbi, who founded Maike in the 1990s, believes as top consumer China builds metals-intensive renewable energy and electric vehicle infrastructure, copper and other base metals will see serious supply deficits in future and be subject to capital inflows.<br/><br/>&quot;The price of copper will hit a record high in the coming year,&quot; He, a delegate at the National People&#39;s Congress (NPC) in&nbsp;Beijing, said in a written response to Reuters questions.<br/><br/>&quot;The market will gradually accept it, because with the recovery of the global consumption market there will also be a shortage of copper in the European and American markets,&quot; he explained, adding that global investment in mineral resources &quot;has been seriously inadequate in the past five years.&quot;<br/><br/>The Maike boss is submitting a proposal at this year&#39;s NPC meeting calling for better coordination on a strategic metals reserve in China.<br/><br/>&quot;Don&#39;t focus on market prices too much. When to stockpile, what to stockpile and how to stockpile - these are questions the relevant national departments should think about,&quot; he said.<br/><br/>Hundreds of proposals are typically submitted at the annual gathering, although most are suggestions by individual delegates and are not discussed in parliament.</p>