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(LUSAKATIMES) Copper price hits a record US$9,600

Copper price hits a record US$9,600
Sunday, January 2, 2011, 9:15

The price of copper has hit a new all-time high, rounding off a year in which industrial metals rebounded strongly. It peaked at USD 9,631.75 per metric tonne on the London Metal Exchange, its highest ever level, before falling back slightly.

The metal has risen 30% in value this year, with half of that rise coming in the last month. The rally has been driven by the global economic recovery and most countries holding low stockpiles.

Demand for copper and other industrial metals is outstripping supply, as industrial output by the emerging markets economies surges ahead of their pre-recession levels. Manufacturing in Europe and even in the US according to recent data has also picked up, the latest data suggests.

In most parts of the world, future copper prices suggest there will be further near term rises in the metal’s value.

Global copper inventories are down by about a third this year, and traders say that with supplies so tight, the risk is that prices could rise more rapidly if the recovery gathers pace.

The swelling metal price means Zambia, which is one of the biggest Africa’s exporter of copper, may attain its Growth Domestic Product (GDP) projection of about 10 points up from a close of 6.1 percent in the ended year.

Labels: COPPER, CORRUPTION, NEOLIBERALISM

posted by MrK @ 8:32 AM