It is reported that Strong copper demand from China and other emerging countries, together with steady improvements in North America and Europe, have resulted in a very tight global copper market.

Mr Richard Adkerson Canada-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold chief executive officer said in the longer term, copper prices will be driven by the limits on bringing new supply into the market.

He said that “We would like to turn the spigot on and produce more copper today, but we can’t do that because of the time it takes to drill resources, to get permits, to get water and power and so forth.”

He added that “And that’s a double-edged sword we can’t turn it on quickly but others can’t either and that leads to the strong prices. He also said fundamentally, we feel very good about the marketplace in 2011 and we are very positive over a longer period.”

Mr Adkerson said while copper demand for residential and commercial real estate in the US remains weak, other sectors like manufacturing are showing increased strength. He said that the market is concerned that that’s going to lead to steps to control that growth.”

He also said “China’s had a great run in being able to have very significant growth and to manage that growth in a way that it doesn’t create the kinds of ups and downs that you see in a lot of other economic situations.”

Mr Adkerson said “So we add to the fact of the continuing strength in China and the emerging markets, sectors in the US and North America of improvement, and that’s added up to a copper market that’s very tight globally and a positive outlook for the marketplace.”

(Sourced from thecitizen.co.tz)