Chinese copper demand fuels global price surge

Copper consumption in China rose by 20% in 2003, with China consuming one-fifth of global copper production. Copper futures at the New York Mercantile Exchange Comex rose 72% over the same period, as high as US$1.36 per pound, and global refined copper inventories dropped by 16% to 1.779 million metric tons. Chile, the world's largest source of copper exports, exported 37% more of the metal to China and 54% less to the US, compared with 2002 exports. Analysts predict this trend will continue.