Biz talk

Copper prices may inch up

Copper prices could continue to rally over the next month and China's refined copper imports could stay at around 200,000 tons each month in January and February, with a growth rate of 50 percent year-on-year, Macquarie said in another report.

The bank said China's State Reserve Bureau is in talks with various parties for purchasing up to 300,000 tons of copper as strategic reserves, equivalent to nearly half of the 2009 global surplus forecast by Macquarie. The potential purchase has already triggered a rebound in copper prices.