COPPER

Copper demand may outstrip supply in 2011 for the first time in four years as China, the world's biggest consumer, sustains purchases and as ore grades decline. The demand-supply gap will be the extent of 200,000 metric tons. Copper, used in pipes, tubes and wires, faces a deepening supply crunch and record prices are highly likely in the next two years, Barclays Capital said in a report on July 27. Prices for immediate delivery will average $7,763 a ton next year as a market shortage widens,...

Congo is one of the copper giants in the world and certain taxes levied by the government for copper exports have been worrying the exporters for quite sometime. But, things are changing fast now. Congo is now mulling changes in taxes levied on exports of semi processed copper and cobalt after appeals from business community which says illegal taxes are crippling sectors across the board.

In order to penetrate further into retail segment of the commodities investors, National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) will launch copper and nickel contracts under its electronic spot trading E-series by the end of August, 2010.

After a rally towards the end of 2009, base metals have tumbled in the first half of 2010 on China monetary tightening and concerns about sovereign debt problems in Euro Zone nations. Apart from the temporary upward movements seen in copper, nickel and aluminium analysts hold divergent views on prospects for base metals ahead in 2011. Against this backdrop, Atul Shah, Head of Emkay Commotrade, talks to Sreekumar Raghavan of Commodity Online that prospects for base metals in the medium term looks...

ad news emanating from the US may impact copper prices and demand in the coming months even though China's still hungry for the metal. US durable goods order was dismal after witnessing the decline in consumer confidence earlier this week. The negative impact of the news is expected to soften copper.

Gold and copper production in China may suffer a setback following the Chinese government's order to limit Zijin Mining Group's production at a gold mine located near a separate copper mine that was the source of a toxic spill.

If you haven't paid due attention to the movements of copper prices in the market, this is the right time to do so. Copper inventories fell further as measured by the London Metals Exchange, by 0.8 per cent to 423,850 tonnes, the lowest level since November 20. Copper supplies are down a staggering 16 per cent this year.

China's lukewarm response to copper imports has hit the commodity's prices in the London market. This week copper traded a bit low in London as China reported a drop in copper imports for the third straight month in June, leading to caution on the demand outlook by the key buyer of the metal.

Gold rose 1.5 percent to above $1,210 an ounce on Friday, alongside other commodities such as copper and oil, while underlying cautiousness in the market continued to boost its safe-haven appeal. Traders said some short-covering and momentum buying after bullion broke above the key $1,200 an ounce mark have accelerated gains, but added that they did not expect further hefty gains.

Having recovered from the recession blues during 2008, the semiconductor market in India posted a healthy growth in 2009 and with Indian economy seen growing at the growth rate of over 9% for 2010-11 the semiconductor segment as well as the allied metal sectors are believed to get a boost on the growth.

Chile's economy is seen surging in the second quarter as the world's top copper producer recovers from a a massive February quake, a central bank poll of financial analysts showed on Thursday

Chile's state copper think tank Cochilco said Friday it raised its forecast for copper prices to $3.20 per lb in 2010 despite the ongoing market volatility stemming from Europe's debt woes. Cochilco, which helps set price views for the world's top copper miner Codelco [CODEL.UL], said it also raised its 2011 average copper price forecast to $3.30 from $3.20.

China's General Administration of Customs said country's imports of refined copper dropped 2.7% year on year to 309,772 tons in April, or decreased 8.1% month on month from 337,125 tons. According to the statistics released by the GAC, in the first four months of this year, the country's refined copper imports slightly declined 0.2% to 1.1 million tons from the same period in 2009.

With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union chipping in to rescue Greece from the financial mess by announcing schemes worth billions of dollars, the biggest beneficiary is metal market.

World over, copper and some other base metals have been witnessing a downfall season now following the European financial mess and China's decision to crack down on realty sector. Copper's downward journey was also witnessed in India this week with copper futures traded almost flat as worries about growing fiscal crisis in Europe hit global markets. In copper 316 remains a crucial resistance, prices might drift towards 312-310 rupees.

This week the world got a taste of the things to come for base metal mining companies in the world. Almost all companies involved in mining have posted lucrative gains in the financial year results. One major aluminium producing company, Vedanta, has posted 187 per cent surge in annual earnings per share on a rebound in metals prices and stronger output.

Copper prices dropped to seven week low here on fears China may tighten monetary policy further and cause demand to thin from the world's top consumer of many base metals.

Even as gold is set to cash in on the European economic crisis, other metals like steel and copper are set to witness a fall following the debt crisis in Greece, Spain and Portugal. The debt crisis has hit several nations in the Europe and the Euro is also struggling. This will help gold because panicked investors will rush to park their money in gold as a safe haven.

Residents of the Tasmanian west coast mining town of Rosebery plan to sue the state's health and environment bodies, as well as mine operator MMG Australia over alleged exposure to toxic contaminates from mining activities.

On Tuesday, news agencies reported that London Metal Exchange copper rallied to a 20-month high above $8,000 a tonne. This rally is a hint for the things to come in the new financial year. If you take note of the new trend in copper market, the metal has jumped 165% from its low during the bad days of late 2008 and early 2009. Along with that, lead and nickel also climbed 150%, and zinc has jumped 125% .

Chinese imports of refined copper increased by 12% in February, 2010 over a month earlier as the inbound shipments kept rising on the back of improved demand and steadily falling scrap supplies. Analsts believed that copper prices may get a boost on the increased imports by China.