Copper prices in the up15 Oct 2021 14:28
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Fisher Investments UK
Updates throughout, adds LONDON dateline
LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Copper on Friday was heading for its biggest weekly gain since 2016 as surging power prices threaten to curb supply at a time when exchange stockpiles are at rock bottom.
A rapid rise in the cost of energy and shortages of power in China have already forced zinc and aluminium smelters to cut output, pushing prices of both metals to their highest in more than a decade.
Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 2.1% at $10,191.50 a tonne at 1132 GMT, up 9% this week and nearing a record high of $10,747.50 reached in May.
High power costs are also inflationary and this is boosting demand from investors for copper and other physical commodities as a hedge, said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.