James HesterCredit Suisse has upped its outlook on copper prices as the market continues to strengthen.
It now forecasts copper to average US$2.65/lb in 2018, up from a prior forecast of US$2.05/lb.
Copper prices have firmed from $3.09 per pound to $3.15 over the past few trading sessions.
Prices have risen by around 50% over the past year against a strengthening global economic outlook as well as expectations that copper will see rising demand from electric cars.
On the supply side, long-term geological scarcity is also a bullish factor for prices.
Credit Suisse named Australian miners OZ Minerals and Sandfire Resources as some of the likely beneficiaries of copper`s buoyancy, raising its price target on the two miners.