Non-ferrous metal futures rebounded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SFEX) yesterday after a continuous decline since the US credit crisis hit international commodity markets this month.

The price of the most actively traded copper futures contract for delivery in November jumped 3 percent to 64,720 yuan per ton. At this level, the November contract price was still 2.6 percent down from two weeks ago.

Analysts attributed the non-ferrous metals rebound to the latest moves by US and European Central Banks to defuse the credit crisis by injecting fresh capital into their financial systems.

Li Jingyuan, an analyst at Haifu Futures, said: "The closer link between global commodities markets means the price increase on international markets has helped drive up Shanghai prices as well."

Copper futures on the London Metal Exchange (LME) had gained 1.22 percent to reach around $7,257 per ton yesterday morning - the biggest increase in two weeks.

Futures prices of other major non-ferrous metals also went up in Shanghai. The most actively traded aluminum futures contracts for delivery in November on the SFEX rose 1 percent to 19,400 yuan per ton and the November contract for zinc futures surged 3.9 percent to close at 27,250 yuan per ton.

Zhou Jie, a senior analyst of non-ferrous metals at the China International Futures (Shanghai) Co, said that aside from the central banks' capital injection, "the anticipation of increasing copper consumption and declining domestic investment in China have contributed to the price increase."

Statistics show that aggregate consumption in China in 2007 is expected to increase 20 percent from the year before.

Analysts forecast the non-ferrous metals markets will maintain an upward trend for the rest of the year, although the rise is not expected to be drastic. They expect copper futures prices to reach about $7,600 per ton on the LME and between 67,000 and 68,000 yuan per ton on the SFEX.

(China Daily August 24 2007)