The copper market is a strange place at the moment, says John Reade, head of metals strategy at UBS, who notes that available stocks of the red metal have fallen sharply this year.

“The copper price is high and there are tremendous supply disruptions and production interruptions,” says Mr Reade: “Yet demand is patchy, weak in the US as demonstrated by comments from some Codelco customers but stronger in Europe, based on recent increases in physical premiums.”