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Copper price to fall in the 2nd half of 2024, Antaike states

Copper rates are likely to fall in the second half of 2024 due to stable output and weak demand issues, prominent Chinese statebacked research study house Antaike said on Wednesday.

Worries over worldwide economic downturn, steady refined copper output growth and expected interest rate cuts will push copper rates for the rest of 2024, Antaike expert Li Zhimei stated at a Beijing conference.

The next support level for copper is at $8,500 a metric lot on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and 68,900 yuan ($ 9,540.29) on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE),. stopping working which rates could fall to $8,000 and 64,900 yuan, Li. said.

Antaike forecast China's refined copper need development to. sluggish to 2.5% in 2024, from 5.3% in 2015, dragged down by. building and construction sector weakness. Given bad first-half performance,. actual need could lag the existing projection, she added.

The global refined copper surplus is anticipated at 300,000. heaps in 2024, slightly above last year, Li stated, adding that the. concentrate market will continue to be tight and likely see a. deficiency of 200,000 lots this year.

TIN

Tin costs this year could leap by practically 25% every year to an. average 268,000 yuan a load on SHFE, backed by a deficit in China. of 2,920 lots compared to a surplus of 14,262 heaps in 2015,. said Antaike expert Guo Ning.

Tin need development is mainly driven by the solar and electrical. lorries sectors, while usage from the military sector. likewise increased amidst geopolitical unpredictability, Guo said, adding. that demand from the artificial intelligence sector stayed. limited in spite of hype about its tin usage potential.

A sharp drop in tin ore imports from Myanmar into China. given that April caused by a mining restriction in the Southeast Asian. nation contributed to provide tightness, she added.

ALUMINIUM AND ZINC

Aluminium costs on SHFE will likely rise about 9% this year. on average to 19,900 yuan, stated Antaike analyst Lang Shitong,. including that demand will get in the 4th quarter after a. typically weak third quarter.

Demand for the light metal used in building,. transportation and packaging is most likely to grow about 4% this. year in China to 44.6 million lots, driven by exports, she stated,. with China and the United States restocking recently.

The last three months of the year will see. hydropower-reliant aluminium producers in southwestern China. cutting output during the dry season, Lang said.

The supply outlook for electrolytic aluminium in the next. two years remains tight due to China's capability ceiling of 45. million heaps, along with production cuts in southwestern China. and sanctions on Russian metals, she included.

Meanwhile, zinc costs are expected to rise 10% this year. from 2023, due to mine supply interruptions and a demand growth. projection of 2%, stated Antaike analyst Zhang Zhiwei.

(source: Reuters)