The price of copper increased 2.2 percent on the London Metals Exchange Friday, ending the day’s trading at US$1.93 per pound. The news was celebrated with champagne in Chile where the Chilean Copper Commission (COCHILCO) increased the estimates for the 2005 annual average price of copper to US$1.61 per pound.
The record copper prices mean that the government-owned National Copper Corporation (Codelco) can expect to earn US$7 billion for the government this year.
Gustavo Lagos, Director of the Mining Center at the Universidad Católica, said that the high price is caused by low copper reserves at the London Metals Exchange. The reserves are currently at 65,000 metric tons, down from 1 million metric tons four years ago.
Patricio Cartagena, executive vice president of COCHILCO, estimates that the 2006 average will be between US$1.46 and US$1.50 per pound. This means that in 2006, for ever cent of the estimated average price of copper, Chile will earn US$121 million.
COCHILCO increased their estimates based on China’s and India’s steady demand for copper as well the increased demand in the U.S. following a devastating hurricane season.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment