China to keep copper at US$7 000 to US$9 000

SHANGHAI – The drive to develop China’s interior will keep copper prices firm in a US$7 000 a tonne to US$9 000 range in 2012, offsetting demand damaged by a floundering European economy, a top Sucden Financial executive in Asia has said.

‘The most likely scenario is a US$7 000 to US$9 000 type range, with potential for US$500 either side of that quite feasible in short term spikes,’ said Jeremy Goldwyn, Asian business development chief of the commodities broker.’This year we’ll have a weak Europe,’ he said. ‘That has two impacts: the real impact, on supply and demand, and the emotional impact, on investment risk appetite, on bank lending, on all those features that could still cause a crisis because of the lack of confidence.’’China is not a panacea [but] …in a relatively weak global and local year, the fact that demand was still pretty good is quite a positive sign,’ he said on the sidelines of a copper conference in Shanghai on Sunday.Copper prices, seen as a proxy for industrial demand, hit a record of US$10 190 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange in February 2011, closing the year down by around 21 per cent. China is the world’s biggest consumer of metals, accounting for around 40 per cent of refined copper demand. – Nampa-Reuters