“Global demand growth for copper is expected to slow to 8.4 percent in 2011-12, slowing substantially from the average growth of 16.4 percent between 2005-2010, the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said.
China’s demand for the red metal, used extensively in the electrical manufacturing, construction and power sectors, is expected to grow by 7 percent this year, down from a double-digit growth in 2010, the general secretary of the International Wrought Copper Council Mark Loveitt said on Sunday.
The IWCC, which represents copper fabricators such as wire and tube makers worldwide, said the short-term outlook for copper remains uncertain as high prices were encouraging end-users to run down their inventories. Consumers were also reluctant to hold unnecessary inventories.
Prices at current levels have also prompted end-users in some sectors to either substitute copper with aluminium or to use smaller and thinner components, Loveitt said at an industry conference in Shanghai.
On China, which accounts for about 40 percent of global consumption, Lovevitt said it was uncertain if the world’s largest consumer would undergo a large-scale restocking in the second-half of this year…..”
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