Metal futures cool down after price rebound

The latest spurt in the prices of key metals in the Shanghai commodity futures market has many traders and users wondering if prices that went on a free fall in the past several months have touched bottom.

Not so fast, say the leading analysts and economists interviewed by China Daily. Their reservation, they said, was based on spot price projections that were influenced by supply and demand estimates, producers' inventory levels and established industry practice.

The surge in prices of futures contracts for copper and aluminum in Shanghai in the past week was a "technical" correction from the precipitous fall earlier, the analysts said.