Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Copper - analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stephen O who wrote (1152)	4/6/2005 12:11:34 PM
From: Stephen O	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2131

I sense people are bored with metals, but they shouldn't be. Copper Prices Rise as Global Demand Outpaces Miners' Production 2005-04-06 09:46 (New York) By Claudia Carpenter April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices in New York rose for the second day this week amid expectations that mining companies will be unable to boost production enough to meet rising global demand. The gap between consumption and supply from mines and scrap yards will be 181,000 metric tons this year, Morgan Stanley said today in a report. The New York-based securities company boosted its 2005 price forecast by 8 percent. Stockpiles monitored by the London Metal Exchange are down 74 percent in the past year, even after a rise of 1.4 percent today, exchange figures show. ``The market is still in deficit, and that's a fundamental that's positive for higher prices,'' said John Gross, director of metals management at Cranston, Rhode Island-based Scott Brass Inc., a maker of metal parts for automobiles, electronics, jewelry and doorknobs. ``Technically, the market has been in a consolidation phase for eight weeks.'' Copper futures for May delivery rose 0.45 cent, or 0.3 percent, to $1.489 a pound at 9:44 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up 13 percent in the past year. A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a set price by a specific date. The metal will average $1.40 a pound this year, Morgan Stanley said in its report. As of yesterday, the Comex average was $1.4473. Prices since March 1 have traded between a 16-year high of $1.521 on March 8 and $1.442 on March 2. ``In the last couple days, the market has tested the lower end of the range and then moved higher,'' Gross said. ``The fundamentals would support a break to the upside, and if that occurs, I would expect more speculative buying as a follow-through.'' `Strong First Half' Prices will average $1.30 to $1.35 a pound this year, Gross said. ``The view had been and still remains we'll have a strong first half and deficit in the market and gravitate to a balanced position by year end,'' he said. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose $19 to $3,254 a metric ton ($1.476 a pound). Copper for June delivery on China's Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.8 percent to 31,940 yuan a ton ($1.75 a pound) after reaching a record 32,120 yuan. China is the world's biggest buyer of copper. Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Inc., China's biggest tube producer, is buying more metal to fill orders from makers of air conditioners as summer in the Northern Hemisphere approaches. ``We have no choice but to buy copper even at these prices,'' said Huang Xiaotian, head of the copper department at Henan-based Golden Dragon. China's economy grew at the fastest pace in eight years, up 9.5 percent in 2004, spurring demand for raw materials such as copper to construct buildings and produce more power lines, cars and appliances. ``Investment in electricity generation and all the equipment that goes with that continues and is expected to continue in fact for at least through 2006,'' said Patricia Mohr, an economist at Scotiabank Group in Toronto. ``That part of the demand balance for copper isn't going to fade.'' --With reporting by Simon Casey in London and Chia-Peck Wong in Singapore. Editor: Stroth, McKiernan