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

To: LoneClone who wrote (1672)	3/29/2007 9:32:31 AM
From: LoneClone	Respond to of 2131

Expert: China copper usage trending downward Source: BNamericas Chinese copper consumption is trending downward despite forecasts that the country's economy will grow at least 9% in 2007, according to the deputy general director of copper for China's Non-Ferrous Metals Industry Organization, Shang Fushan. China produced some 2.11Mt of copper in 2006 while the country's apparent copper consumption hit just under 4Mt that year, Fushan said during a presentation at the CRU 6th World Copper Conference in Chilean capital Santiago. China's consumption of the red metal has been steadily increasing from roughly 2Mt in 2000 but fell slightly in 2006 with respect to the year before, according to Fushan's presentation. The country's trade balance is expected to amount to US$2.10tn in 2007 with a 20% leap over US$1.75tn in 2006, he added. But despite the anticipated drop-off in red metal demand, China's copper trade balance remains heavily tipped in favor of imports. The Asian nation stopped exporting copper concentrates as of 2005 due to strong internal demand, importing 4Mt that year and slightly more than 3.5Mt in 2006. Meanwhile the country's own production is improving – between 2000 and 2005, recovery rates in copper concentrate operations grew from 86.1% to 88.1%, he said.