AS China gov's trying to boost the property sector these days but as this article put, developers' re hesitate to invest and 2016 could be as tough as 2015 for metals http://seekingalpha.com/article/376...industrial-metals-and-miners-for-another-year
I rather go by the chart then articles and fundamentals, both can be misleading. And the chart shows recent past.
"when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging" That's a phrase the big mining co's never heard of. They're still digging for metal.
As copper wiring is increasingly replaced by fiber and wireless, what fundamentals are bullish? Or is this a currency-related play?
Continued slow-to-no growth in China and other foreign economies do not portend well for this or any other metals. Where's the demand ?
I learned long ago, never trust the government as they are here to "help" you, they the ones who give or take away information. I have a system, and have learned the hard way by only trading that system, and by golly, I do. Doesn't that sound swell, neat'o, Oh I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Weiner, that is truly what I want to be.
OZ Minerals CEO Cole says copper won't be hit by lower global growth OZ Minerals chief executive Andrew Cole says any downturn in global economic growth won't automatically spill over to the copper price because of the red metal's increasing importance as a vital material for the digital age, along with a dearth of big copper discoveries being made around the world. Mr Cole said those fundamentals had much more influence on the copper price than the pace of broader economic activity. The International Monetary Fund cut its world economic growth forecasts on January 21 for 2019 and 2020 because of weakness in Europe and emerging markets amid rising worries about trade tensions. But Mr Cole said copper had special attributes and the medium-term supply and demand projections across the industry meant the depletion rate of existing mines was running ahead of new finds. "There are just not enough copper discoveries around the world to replace the depletion rate that we're seeing," Mr Cole said. OZ is on track to begin producing copper from its Carrapateena project about 470 kilometres north of Adelaide in the December quarter this year after giving the final go-ahead for close to $1 billion in spending on the mine in August 2017. It was the first greenfields mine to be built in Australia for about five years. Mr Cole said there would be an 18-month ramp-up phase before Carrapateena was in full swing, after it commences first production. Mr Cole, who took the helm of OZ in 2014, has high hopes that the company's other South Australia asset, the Prominent Hill copper and gold mine, will be able to extend its mine life substantially beyond the official projected end date of 2030, which has just been extended by one year from 2029. "I'm optimistic that Prominent Hill will have quite a bit longer than 2030," he said. Special dividend Prominent Hill is 650 kilometres north-west of Adelaide and is having a spurt in gold production, with the company on Thursday lifting its gold production guidance to between 120,000 to 130,000 ounces. Gold production from Prominent Hill in the fourth quarter of calendar 2018 was 37,719 ounces, up from 34,143 ounces in the September quarter. Copper production from Prominent Hill was 26,599 tonnes in the December quarter, down from 28,915 tonnes. OZ had a cash balance of $505 million at December 31 and Mr Cole said the group was in a strong position to both reward shareholders and fund growth opportunities. "We have a healthy cash balance. We are a growth-oriented company". He declined to comment on market speculation that OZ might be a candidate to pay out a special dividend in its full-year results due in late February. "That is a board decision," he said. "We like to be fairly consistent in our returns to shareholders." OZ last year completed the $470 million acquisition of Brazil-focused Avanco. OZ made a cash and scrip bid for Avanco on March 27 after it scrutinised dozens of potential acquisitions around the world to diversify from its status as the operator of only one working mine, Prominent Hill. OZ has just hired Carlos Gonzalez as its new chief executive for Brazil, signalling a clear focus to improve its operations there. Mr Gonzalez has been an executive with international mining companies including Anglo American, Vale and MMX in the past 25 years. Mr Cole said the group had room for further acquisition opportunities if the right ones emerged. "We would like to be adding more things to the pipeline," he said. A shift of the OZ head office to a building adjacent to the Adelaide Airport from a city fringe location in the South Australian capital had proved a plus. "It costs us less to be based here and we are seeing a lot more interaction from site-based people," Mr Cole said. Large numbers of Prominent Hill staff do fly-in fly-out shifts, travelling from the airport. OZ shares gained 1.3 per cent on Thursday to around $9.29, compared with $8.26 in early September. The shares were at $10.67 in mid-June last year. https://www.afr.com/business/mining...be-hit-by-lower-global-growth-20190124-h1aewi
Copper should remain under pressure for the foreseeable future.... weak USA housing demand a biggie....as well as China's problems.