Chile’s central bank sees copper at $2.95/lb in 2008
Platts Metals Alert, 936 am EST/1436 GMT 16-Jan-2008
Santiago (Platts) — Chile’s central bank said Wednesday that it expected copper prices to average $2.95/lb this year, down from an average of $3.23/lb during 2007.
The bank also forecast copper prices in 2009 to average $2.50/lb.
In its latest monetary policy report, the bank said the lower forecast reflected the sharp fall in prices since early October indicating slower demand from the developed world that had not been offset by stronger demand from emerging economies.
The bank also noted that the production forecast for the red metal had been cut due to the delayed start-up of some new projects.
Home to more than a third of global mine capacity, Chile is the world’s largest producer of copper, which represents around half of the country’s exports.
