Heady Chinese growth burnishes nickel and copper
Copper rose steeply Thursday and nickel reached another record high after China, the world’s largest consumer of industrial metals, said that its economy expanded at the fastest pace in 11 years.
Gross domestic product in China expanded 10.4 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The economy grew 10.7 percent in 2006.
“This is supporting demand for metals,” RBC Capital Markets traders said in a report.
Copper for delivery in three months gained $135 to $5,850 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. The metal has declined 7.6 percent this year.
The exchange’s index of six industrial metals has more than quadrupled in five years as the booming Chinese economy stokes demand for the raw materials needed for cars, buildings and appliances. Chinese copper consumption will climb 7.8 percent in 2007, according to Maike Futures in Shanghai.
Source: www.iht.com
