Some good new from China?

摘要

It is the tightness in the concentrate market which has given the market further confidence. Market bulls are predicting that Chinese exports to the West will slow as smelters there face a shortage of imported concentrates coupled with the shutdown of small, inefficient smelters. Reports from China have indicated that concentrate production has been limited because lead prices have been too low. While it is true that the latest Antaikie statistics show that lead concentrate production increased 6 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2000- production only represents output from the government owned mines and not the smaller artisinal operations. In the past, when lead prices rise, output from these small artisinal mines rises substantially.