Red metals recovery/Almost, but not quite, service center executives say

摘要

There are plenty of signs that a broad-based recovery is at hand, red metal producers and distributors agree although its a case of almost, hut not yet. Despite a marked pickup in copper pricing November and December are cyclically slower with short shipping months and consecutive holidays, they indicated, and manufacturing has yet to feel the spark that generated the 8.2 percent leap in U.S. GDP during the third quarter. Any real idea of where red metal touchstone markets are heading will have to wait until the first quarter of 2004. "The real curiosity is what happens when we all come hack to work in January," commented Scott Immell, president of Ohio-based Scioto Metals. "Will we pick up where we left oft? Or settle hack into the doldrums?"