The hottest party in the metals world is back, but much smaller

Near-record copper prices are usually a sure sign that the parties will be extravagant and the champagne will flow all night when the metals world descends on London. 

But with Covid-19 still raging across much of the globe, the famously rowdy annual gathering of traders, financiers and producers won’t be quite the same.

Several of the best-attended parties will be missing from this year’s London Metal Exchange Week, which is returning after skipping 2020 due to virus restrictions. And many regular attendees from Asia, the most important driver of metals demand, and from South America, the key mining region, are opting to stay at home.