Copper’s price curve could be signaling a significant economic slowdown (from OilPrice.com on October 2)…

The copper market is in a state of extreme contango—a state of the futures curve where futures contracts trade at a premium to the spot price and signal weak prompt demand.   The cash to three-month contango on the London Metals Exchange (LME) jumped at the end of September to the highest since at least 1994
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Despite weak near-term demand, copper producers are warning that there aren’t enough mines to meet long-term expectations (from The Financial Times on October 9)…

The world’s largest copper producers have warned that there is a lack of mines under development to deliver enough of the metal to keep pace with the clean energy transition. The warning comes as miners struggle with falling metal prices because of the weakness of the global economy and cost inflation, which makes executives, investors
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China is now restricting exports of graphite, which is critical in manufacturing electric-vehicle batteries (from Reuters on October 20)…

China said on Friday it will require export permits for some graphite products to protect national security, springing a surprise with another bid to control critical mineral supply in response to challenges over its global manufacturing dominance. China is the world’s top graphite producer and exporter. It also refines more than 90% of the world’s
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However, more weakness is possible in the near term (from Bloomberg on September 18)…

Copper demand in the world’s biggest user of the metal is slowing down at a time of the year when it usually picks up. The copper market, traditionally a bellwether of economic health, is finding some support from the energy transition and Beijing’s efforts to revitalize growth. But buyers lack conviction and the view from
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