Chile Copper Export Revenue Rose 30 Percent in May

Wednesday, Jun 16, 2010

Chile’s copper export revenue rose 30 percent in May compared with a year earlier as increasing demand for the metal in China helped boost prices.

Revenue was $2.76 billion last month, compared with $2.11 billion in the prior period, according to a statement posted today on the central bank’s website.

Copper has risen 33 percent in the past year in London as China boosted its use of the metal used in power cables and electrical wire. Rising demand from the Asian nation, coupled with production constraints, will leave the metal in short supply through 2014, Societe Generale said in a June 11 report.

Chile’s copper revenue dropped 12.6 percent in May compared with the previous month after prices slid 11.2 percent between April and May, bank data showed.

Futures for September delivery slipped 0.75 cent, or 0.2 percent, to $3.005 a pound at 8:29 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Copper for delivery in three months dropped 0.2 percent to $6,645 a ton on the London Metal Exchange.

 

Source: Business Week