The lateral movement in the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci’s) Copper Theft Barometer for August could again point to the possibility that levels of copper theft were stabilising, the chamber noted on Thursday.

The Copper Theft Barometer remained flat at R12-million in August, compared with July, after having declined from R12.2-million in June and R15.4-million in May.

However, the Copper Theft Volume Indicator increased to 160 t, compared with 158 t in July.

“The outlook for copper theft levels for 2014 remains relatively positive but the concern is that we may be falling into a persistent crime incidence level. Today’s incident of copper theft at the Gautrain is a clear indication of the extent to which copper theft causes disruption of economic activity,” Sacci stated.

Gautrain services between the Hatfield and Park stations were interrupted early on Thursday morning, and later restored, after thieves stole about 300 m of signalling cable near Pretoria. This prompted the Gautrain operator Bombela Concession Company to call on government to intensify efforts to prevent cable theft.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan, in September, said government had placed the issue of cable theft and the tightening of laws to deal with the problem high on its agenda.

At the time, he reported that the departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Justice and Correctional Services, State Security and Public Enterprises, along with the South African Police Service, had established a working group to form proposals to deal with the problem of cable theft, which was costing the economy billions of rands a year.

Meanwhile, Sacci pointed out that the average international monthly spot price of copper had declined to $6 871/t in September, compared with $7 005/t in August and $7 117/t in July.

“The September figure is 4% lower than a year before and slightly below the rolling 12-month average of $7 000/t. Whether this is indicative of a downward trend remains to be seen.

“The movement in the copper price mirrors the weakening in the internationally set prices of other commodities like gold and oil, so the downward copper price trend is typical of a broader global trend,” the chamber noted.