As Glencore has exposure to a wide range of commodities and geographical areas, unlike many of its pure-play rivals, it seems well placed to benefit from the ambitious net-zero targets of the world’s major economies and the population growth that is largely behind a surge in energy demand.

Encouragingly, the company’s latest production report stated that it was on track to meet full-year guidance. A further update is scheduled for release on Wednesday, while annual results are due on Feb 15.

The company’s shares could also be boosted by the rapidly evolving global economic outlook. America is experiencing its highest level of inflation since 1982. Since commodity prices have historically been positively correlated with a rapid rise in the cost of living, shares in mining companies could experience a fillip as inflation is widely expected to increase further in the current year.

Meanwhile, the outlook for global economic growth remains relatively upbeat. The IMF forecasts a figure of 4.4pc this year. Although this represents a 0.5 percentage point reduction from its October prediction, the emergence of omicron accounts for a large part of the downgrade. 

As the pandemic enters its endgame (we hope), an improving economic outlook and lessened chance of operational disruption could benefit Glencore’s financial prospects.

Even if commodity prices come under pressure, the firm’s improving financial position suggests it has a growing capacity to overcome them. Net debt declined by around 10pc in the first half of its current financial year and it now has a net-debt-to-equity ratio of less than 100pc. 

Furthermore, the company’s shares trade on a forecast price-to-earnings ratio of around 9. This indicates that they continue to offer a margin of safety should the firm’s prospects deteriorate in the short run.