The prices of key industrial metals have been enjoying a “spectacular rally”, says Buttonwood in The Economist. Copper has jumped by about 25% since the start of April, while iron ore has delivered 12% gains for the year to date.
Commodity bulls have China to thank for this rapid recovery, says Buttonwood. Steel blast furnaces were running at 92% capacity in the first week of June, which is above normal levels. For all the talk of the Middle Kingdom’s shift to a consumer economy, the authorities seem happy to use the old method of stoking a construction boom when a round of stimulus is needed.
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