Copper Shortage Coming

China’s Demand Grows as Global Supply Dwindles

Already responsible for the most significant use of copper in the world, China is looking to ramp things up even further with its usage of and demand for the metal in 2013. As a result, prices throughout the world are expected to rise, and a shortage of copper is not too far off in the future.

Commentary: A good story explaining the fundamentals of supply and demand in the copper market. These shortages affect other markets, but copper is probably the largest in terms of volume since it’s used in so many things.

Demand from China will certainly buoy copper higher – if supplies are in deficit, that will send them even higher until new supplies come online. Getting new supplies though can be a challenge – any new mines take years to come online.