Copper Rises, But it Registers Worst Quarter Since 2011
Copper prices rose on Tuesday after data showed an unexpected rebound in manufacturing activity in China. Still, they headed for their worst quarter since 2011. As the coronavirus outbreak shut down much of the world economy, it reduced the need for metals.
At 12:04 GMT, benchmark copper improved 0.88% to the US $ 4,811.30 a ton but accumulated a 22% drop in the January-March period. Meanwhile, other industrial metals lost between 10% and 20% in the first quarter.
Copper has stabilized in the past week. Calmness on the world market helped it. A weakening of the dollar and the closure of mines due to the confinements decreed to combat the coronavirus.
In China, the world’s largest consumer of metals, the official Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 52 in March, from its collapse in February to a record low of 35.7. Still, analysts cautioned a lasting recovery in the short term.
In other base metals, aluminum fell 0.1% to $ 1,528.50 a ton; zinc gained 0.8%, at US $ 1,886.50; nickel was down 0.1% at $ 11,310; lead rose 1.1% to $ 1,722; and tin lost 1.5%, at US $ 14,280.
The Contribution of the metal to Combating COVID-19
Among the various properties that copper possesses, one particular feature it has makes it a unique and extremely relevant element for today. For that reason, it can be exploited for health and preventive purposes.
This red metal is an excellent antiviral and antimicrobial tool with permanent self-sanitizing capabilities over time. After several years of joint work by the copper industry, in the middle of the last decade, the EPA registered copper as the only metal with antimicrobial properties.
Many studies have endorsed the properties of copper in the field of health for a long time.
In the most recent survey of the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists demonstrated the effectiveness of copper in controlling the coronavirus, with a sharp drop in the virus in contact with the copper surface during the first hour, and a zero detectable concentration of the virus after 2 to 4 hours. That is why infectious disease experts recommend that surfaces exposed to the public, such as tables and railings are covered with copper.
Considering the health condition we are currently facing, the study points out the importance of taking up copper intervention projects in nurseries, schools, public transport, corporate buildings, and intensive care areas in hospitals, among many others.
