The Swiss news agency African Financial News Agency reported on January 9, 2023 that the price of copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange reached $8,711 a ton that day, the highest level since June 2022. As China, the world’s largest copper consumer, adjusts its quarantine policy, the market is optimistic that China’s economic growth will boost copper consumption. But it is too early to predict the overall impact on metals prices, given what is happening in other consumer markets.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that the recession will affect a third of all countries this year, possibly even the United States or Europe. And if prices rise, Africa’s leading copper-producing countries, Congo and Zambia, will benefit.