However, they do invariably and substantially decline during economic downturns. Much like aluminum, copper price downtrends do not exclusively occur within recessions. Last month, MetalMiner examined how aluminum prices behaved during past recessions. Reexamining the Link Between Copper Prices and Recessions Request a 30-minute demo of the MetalMiner Insights platform now.

Stay on top of global copper trends and price forecasts. The combination of an aging population and relatively few immigrants have likely kept the labor market tight in spite of the multitude of other economic pressures. This is the lowest the index has been since February of 2020. Furthermore, the unemployment rate – which was already at a historic low – fell from 3.6% in June to 3.5%. In fact, according to the Department of Labor’s most recent monthly jobs report, the US economy added 528,000 jobs in July. However, unlike every other modern recession, the labor market continues to surpass expectations. The fear was that the US and elsewhere would soon enter a recession, and it provided the momentum for sweeping downtrends. Before the recent base metal price consolidation, which included copper, analysts seemed to be pointing out warning signals left and right. The growing prospect of a global economic slowdown weighed heavily on commodity prices these past few months. Yet despite this bullish price action, the macro trend still remains bearish, leaving the current market direction unclear. In short: after months of declines, prices ended up moving sideways. There were also several bullish indicators of note, including higher short-term highs.

In the lead-up to August, copper prices saw notable increases. Still, copper prices seem reluctant to pick a direction.

The Copper Monthly Metals Index (MMI) dropped 7.33% month over month as components declined across the board.

Copper prices