The price of copper is on the up. Below are some Supply and Demand factors.

Supply curve shifts to the left.
Disruptions to production in
* Peru – protests
* Chile – strikes
* Zambia – power shortages

Demand curve shifts to the right
In the light of fast-modernising its power grid the demand for copper in China is vast.
“Copper consumption estimates for China are being revised up. Huge spending on copper-intensive power infrastructure on the state grid in ‘rural areas’ will continue through 2012 (12 bn RMB). Beijing has also renewed the ‘home appliance subsidy scheme’ and is promoting electric cars, which are twice as copper-intensive as conventional vehicles.” – Patricia Mohr, Economist, Scotiabank

Graph from The Economist.