Copper price seen around $9,200/T in 2011-analysts Mon Feb 7, 2011 12:47pm GMT
* Forecasts deficit at 385,000 T in 2011 * Price supported by rise in demand, delays in new mines
CAPE TOWN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Copper is expected to average $9,200 per tonne this year and rise to $10,000 in 2012 on the back of strong demand in emerging markets, especially China, and delays in new mines, Standard Bank said on Monday.
Walter de Wet, an analyst at Africa's biggest bank by assets, told a mining conference in Cape Town that a copper supply deficit was likely to continue into 2013, supporting the price of the industrial metal.
"We expect demand to increase in all the regions, even in developed markets, not because growth is so strong but simply because they are coming from a low base," de Wet said.
The copper supply deficit was seen at 385,000 tonnes this year and 560,000 tonnes next year, he added. A recent Reuters poll showed analysts' expectations are for a global copper deficit of 444,000 tonnes this year. [MET/POLL]
"We expect the copper price to average $9,200 in 2011, growing to $10,000 next year as the deficit grows," he said. Copper hit a record high at $10,000 a tonne last week on supply deficit concerns and positive economic data from top consumers China and the United States. [ID:nLDE7120YD] [MET/L]
Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was trading at $10,120 by 1243 GMT. A key gauge of economic growth, copper has gained more than 60 percent since last June when markets feared sovereign default in euro zone countries such as Greece.
China accounts for nearly 40 percent of global copper consumption. The United States is the second largest, accounting for about 15 percent of total demand.
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