Producers of metals and other raw materials ticked up as a spiral in materials prices continued.
Copper prices closed above $10,000 a metric ton in London for the first time in a decade amid anticipation of a global construction boom. Producers are responding to the dramatic increase in copper prices, which have roughly doubled in the last 12 months. Zambia's second-largest copper-and-cobalt producer, Konkola Copper Mines, plans to expand mining operations in a new area in the Copperbelt province in order to profit from the rally.
"Ag commodities and base metals have been on a meteoric rise," said Craig Fehr, investment strategist at brokerage Edward Jones. "That's partly a signal on expectations for a global rebound, expectations that demand for all these things, which are inputs to a structural economic recovery, is going to continue to increase."
A break-neck rally in lumber futures continued, threatening to further push up the cost of building in the U.S., where home prices are already in an upward spiral in many markets. For copper, lumber, and grains, the increase in demand has also coincided with the lingering effects of the 2020 slowdown in production.
"It's the effects of supply being taken offline during the heart of the pandemic when it didn't make sense to be growing as much or pulling these things out of the ground," said Mr. Fehr. "The reality is particularly with commodities, demand and supply rarely perfectly match up with one another."
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-06-21 1650ET
