Industrial metals including copper and zinc have outperformed global stocks this year as signs of a revival in demand from Chinese manufacturers add to concerns over tighter global supply.

An index tracking the performance of six industrial metals on the London Metal Exchange has climbed 8 per cent since the start of 2024, outpacing a 6.3 per cent rise for MSCI’s index of worldwide stocks.
The index, which also includes lead, aluminium, tin and nickel, has risen sharply this month as investors grow more confident that an extended period of high global interest rates, intended to curb inflation, will not choke off economic growth. At the same time, analysts have raised concerns that production snags from miners will constrain supplies.
“Hopes for a global recovery in demand this year are supporting higher prices for industrial metals,” said Ewa Manthey, a commodities strategist at ING.
Traders have also welcomed the first signs of returning demand from China, whose economic performance has sputtered since it came out of its tough-line coronavirus policies in December 2022. The latest Chinese purchasing managers’ index, published at the end of March, signalled an expansion in factory activity in March for the first time since September.