Why copper is this miner's closest friend and worst enemy

It's easy to see why miner Freeport-McMoRan's (NYSE: FCX) stock rises and falls with copper prices. The metal reached a new record high in early March 2022 at around $5 per pound, but it's since plummeted to the $3 range.

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan have moved in lockstep with copper prices, peaking at around $50 in early March and remaining there until mid-April. As a result, investors may want to take clues from copper price movements to gauge where Freeport-McMoRan shares might go next.

Of course, supply and demand are key for copper prices, although they do tend to respond to recessions as well, which is likely why the metal is performing so poorly right now. Copper saw an uptick following the news that China had imported 373,000 tons of refined copper in June, the highest monthly total year to date. China consumes about half of the world's copper, so the announcement was excellent news.

Source Fool.com