roll on 2014

Guys - This article was posted on the MNC thread it was published a couple of days ago in the OZ. While it doesn't mention any companies in particular TGS is an obvious beneficiary of the market forces at play. I always thought of TGS as a good hedge for a falling AUD. With the AUD falling and copper prices rising it's all heading in the right direction.

Roll on 2014 - GLTA




Copper producers expected to lead the pack this year.

AUSTRALIA'S emerging copper producers are set for a boost this year with a strong recovery in the price, and it is not only a win for new miners of the metal but also players in all base metals.

Peter Esho, chief market analyst at Invast Financial, said the copper price in Australian dollar terms had moved to the highest level it had been in a long time.

He said while there was not a mid-tier of Australian-listed copper producers left, when the copper price started to move so did other metals such as zinc, nickel and lead, which still has a mid-tier market in Australia.

"That end of the market has been dead, particularly the explorers and developers, which has been really dead," he said.

"When copper moves everything else will move with it, not automatically but throughout the year, and that is really positive for the multiplier effect on the Australian market."

The London Metal Exchange three-month copper touched an intraday high of $US7445 a tonne towards the end of the week, the highest level since June 5. It is now sitting at about $US7393 a tonne.

The base metal fell about 7 per cent last year and its recent high was a peak in 2011 of $US10,190 a tonne.

China continues to increase its consumption of copper. Developed nations account for about 26 per cent of global refined copper demand, a share that has slumped from 32 per cent in 2009.

In contrast, China's share of world refined copper consumption has climbed from 38 per cent to almost 45 per cent in the past four years, which equates to almost three million tonnes a year of new copper use.

Mr Esho said given that the resources space had been dead for most of 2012 and 2013, it was positive to see some "green shoots" in the copper price, but more momentum was needed.

Copper producers faced a tough 2012 and 2013 on the back of an elevation in stockpiles, which Mr Esho said had risen on the LME from 250,000 tonnes to almost 600,000 tonnes over a short period of time.

In December LME stocks declined to 365,700 tonnes, the lowest in a year.

The rapid increase in stockpiles drove down the price and a high Australian dollar at the same time made it more difficult for Australian producers.

"We are starting to see stockpiles come back towards the five-year average and we are seeing the copper price take off as the Australian dollar falls," Mr

Esho said.

"It is no point metals prices running as the Aussie dollar keeps running because in Australian-dollar terms it doesn't mean much, but commodity prices rising and the Aussie weak -- we haven't seen that for a very long time."


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/copper-producers-expected-to-lead-the-pack-this-year/story-e6frg9df-1226794589357#