Copper and Nickel to Correct – Macquarie Research

July 8, 2009 by goldguru

Speculators lost their heads in the first half of the year when copper and nickel imports into China went through the roof. The fact that copper imports to China were nearly double even peak imports at any time over the global economic boom this past decade suggested that China was opportunistically stockpiling copper.

Demand from China appears to be softening now that stocks have been rebuilt to mid-2008 levels says Macquarie Research. Supporting this view is the fall in China copper prices relative to overseas prices, the premium having fallen substantially in recent weeks.