Copper Weekly returns for episode eighteen, recorded on the road from Geneva as Albert wraps up a week of smelter visits and financial meetings across Austria and Switzerland. Prices held relatively firm despite some pressure, with China's approach to Golden Week, a fast-growing but opaque Russian concentrate story, and rising strike tensions in Chile all in focus.
In this episode:
Steady Prices Ahead of Golden Week — With stocks in China at their lowest since January 2024 and import premiums hitting four-year highs, Albert explains why Chinese buying looks particularly acute this year, and why hand-to-mouth purchasing behaviour, now common across the market more broadly, is creating sharp price bounces whenever levels dip.
Russia's Quietly Growing Concentrate Story — Concentrate exports from Russia have roughly doubled year-on-year, driven largely by Malmyzh, likely the largest new greenfield copper mine to come online in the past year. Albert explains why this growth has gone largely uncovered, and how the opacity of Russian trade flows makes it far harder to track than a comparable project in Chile or Peru.
Strike Risk at Escondida and Centinela — With workers at Centinela having voted to strike and larger negotiations building at Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, Albert breaks down what's being asked for, why Chilean law now brings government mediation into play, and why the two mines together account for around 28% of Chile's annual output.
Why Strikes Cluster at High Prices — Albert shares his own pattern observation that labour tension tends to rise alongside copper prices, as workers seek a greater share of a mine's now much higher profitability.
The Week Ahead — All eyes turn to how China's market behaves once Golden Week ends, and whether the recent drawdown in stocks continues as the market heads towards LME Week.
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