Global supply-demand fundamentals for most industrial metals are tight, Mohr said. (Metals and minerals prices were up 31.6% in November compared with the same month in 1987.) In the case of copper, demand is being boosted by strong international business investment, while supply was reduced by a miners’ strike in Peru and lower output in Chile. Consumer and producer inventories of copper fell to low levels during November.
The strike in Peru is over but copper prices have remained high (near the $1.60(US) per lb range) and Mohr said strong fundamentals point to further gains in early 1989.
The bank’s oil and gas index dropped in November with crude oil export prices moving to their lowest levels since August, 1986. The index is expected to climb in the coming months with firmer oil prices and a seasonal pickup in natural gas prices.
The all-commodity index tracks export prices of a variety of Canadian commodities, which are weighted according to their 1984 export values.
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