State-owned Hindustan Copper resumed its winning streak in Wednesday’s trade, October 29, with the stock gaining 4% to ₹355.25 apiece. The rally was supported by a sharp rise in global copper prices amid concerns over supply issues, making the stock to emerge as one of the top performers in the metals pack in October.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange jumped 1.13% to $11,040 a metric ton in Wednesday’s trade, extending its winning run to the fifth straight session. This lifts the metal’s year-to-date gains to 28%, marking its best annual performance if the momentum sustains through year-end.
Key drivers supporting copper’s upward momentum
Copper, a critical metal for electronics, has soared amid the clean-energy transition and the artificial intelligence boom. At the same time, a series of accidents and disruptions at mines in South America and Central Africa have strained supplies, sending prices sharply higher.
The supply concerns in the base metal come at a time when demand is expected to rise amid easing global trade tensions and geopolitical frictions between China and the U.S.
Trump said Monday that he feels optimistic about reaching a deal with China after trade negotiators agreed on a framework covering key issues such as rare earth minerals, soybean purchases, and TikTok.
Markets also awaited policy decisions from major central banks this week, with the Federal Reserve widely expected to cut interest rates again.
Meanwhile, London-listed Anglo American posted a 9% drop in copper production in the first nine months of the year, falling to 526,000 tons from 575,000 tons in 2024. Still, the company expects to produce 690,000 to 750,000 tons of copper in 2025.
Elsewhere, major Peruvian copper producer Southern Copper announced that its $1.8 billion Tia Maria mine project is 23% complete, maintaining its 2027 target start date for production, Reuters reported.
Earlier, Freeport-McMoRan lowered its sales outlook following a fatal accident at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia. Amid lower production, copper stocks at LME-registered warehouses stood at 134,575 tons, the lowest since late July.
Hindustan Copper share price recovers over 50% in less than two months
Hindustan Copper’s share price has staged a strong recovery in recent months, rebounding 51% from August lows to Tuesday’s close of ₹342 apiece. It closed September with a massive gain of 43%, the biggest monthly jump since December 2023, driving the stock’s year-to-date returns to 41%.
The uptrend has been fueled by multiple positive triggers, including rising copper prices and the renewal of its mining lease for the Rakha Copper Mine in Jamshedpur for another 20 years, paving the way for its reopening and expansion.
Additionally, the company signed an MoU with Oil India to jointly explore and develop critical minerals such as copper, aligning with the government’s National Critical Minerals Mission and boosting investor sentiment.
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