PapertigerSome more detailed news from China courtesy of...

Papertiger
Some more detailed news from China courtesy of Kitco.
"Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd , China's top copper producer, expects market fundamentals for the metal to remain strong this year, its chairman said on Monday."

"China's copper market fundamentals will remain healthy, which will support copper prices," Chairman Li Yihuang told reporters on the sidelines of the National People's Congress, China's parliament, adding that he expected domestic demand to rise about 7 percent in 2012.

Li said the company saw no signs yet of slowdown in China's copper consumption.

However, overall copper prices should remain volatile because of global economic instability, he said.

Li's prediction of copper consumption growth this year is higher than 5.9 percent expected by state-backed research firm Antaike.

Antaike has forecast real consumption of refined copper -- the amount used to manufacture products -- in China to rise to 7.76 million tonnes in 2012 from 7.33 million tonnes last year.