New monies fuel uncertainty

摘要

Although optimistic vis-a-vis metal prices for the remainder of 2006, globetrotting economist David Hale warned Indaba delegates there could be a major cyclical correction in the next 12-18 months thanks to the accumulation of hedge and pension funds in the commodities market. The US-based Hale, who again presented the conference's keynote address, said one of the factors that had helped mineral prices spike was the "extraordinary growth of commodity speculation." Over the last three years, he noted, some 150 billion US dollars had entered the market -the first time in history.