Copper prices seen at $6,200-$9,000/mt next year

摘要

MF Global foresees copper prices trading nbetween $6,200-$9,000/mt next year, it said nTuesday in a report. “Ever since putting in a nlow of $6,200 back in June of this year, cop-nper prices have reversed course and are now nhovering in the mid-$7,000 region, not far naway from their 2010 high of $8,043,” the nreport said. “We attribute this resilience to thnfact that copper’s supply/demand balance hasnbeen tilting toward a deficit for much of this nyear, best evidenced by the fact that invento-nries continue to get worked off.” It noted that nstocks in Shanghai, for example, are off by nsome 100,000 mt since March, while invento-nries on the London Metal Exchange are down nsome 150,000 mt since peaking at 555,000 nmt in February. “Global exchange stocks -- ncomprising those on the LME, COMEX, and nthe Shanghai Futures Exchange -- are now njust under 600,000 mt, equivalent to just n11 days of global usage,” it said. MF Global nsaid China’s refined copper imports are off bynabout 14% versus last year.