Commodity Prices Increase and Copper Hits 10-Year High

Copper prices rose to a 10-year high on Tuesday. The costs of most commodities rose slightly in a flat day in the North American market. It slightly boosts major Canadian stock indexes.

The May copper contract rose 4.7 cents to nearly $4.49 per pound, the highest since 2011 and an increase of about 91% over the same period last year. The prospect of a strike in Chile and a global economic rebound drove this growth. Copper also benefited from recent inflation and long-term decarbonization.

The June crude oil contract rose 1.03 US dollars to 62.94 US dollars per barrel, and the June natural gas contract rose 6.8 cents to 2.94 US dollars per mmBTU. Vermilion Energy Inc.’s stock rose 1.8%, while Suncor Energy Inc.’s stock rose 1.5%.

For about two weeks, Crude oil has stayed above 60 US dollars. Its price is up about 30% in 2021. The current price is nearly 392% higher than it was one year ago.  OPEC, with Russia, announced they are planning to boost oil production from May 1 gradually.

The best performers in the material sector were Forest products Interfor Corp. and Canfor Corp. They gained three and 2.7 %.

However, raised commodity prices aren’t escorted by a higher move in the bond market. 10-year old Canadian bond yield is steady at 1.51%. Even though company executives discuss inflation in 1Q results calls, the bond yields remain flat.

The Canadian dollar traded for 80.63 cents, compared to 80.57 US dollars on Monday. Rising commodity prices are under momentous inflation pressure.

The Dow Jones industrial usual was up 3.36 points at 33,984.93. The S&P 500 index was down 0.9 points at 4,186.72. The Nasdaq compound was down 48.56 points at 14,090.22 after setting an all-time high of 14,171.24.