BASE METALS

Copper to strike it rich

Copper prices recovered from the sub-US$5,000 per tonne doldrums impressively last November, in a sudden rally which dragged prices back into the $5,500-6,000/t range. The rebound was principally a recognition that the market for commodities had ceased to deteriorate, and that copper had, up to that point, been lagging behind its industrial metal peers and failing to reflect the improving conditions.