CORRECTED - Chile panel sees 10-year copper price at $2.13/lb

Mon Aug 31, 2009 4:55pm EDT

(Corrects headline to say price, not output)

SANTIAGO Aug 31 (Reuters) - Chile said on Monday that copper prices could average $2.13 per lb between 2010 and 2019, based on estimates from a panel of experts used to help draft next year's national budget bill.

The 12 experts, which include academics and think tank analysts, based their projections on prices at the London Metal Exchange MCU3.

Another group of experts see potential economic growth at 4.2 percent in 2010. The expert's gross domestic product mid-term forecast is based on the trajectory of the Chilean economy under normal conditions, without taking into consideration the effects of domestic and external economic conditions.

The finance ministry and the government's budget office said they had completed the experts' consultation for the two indicators, which are key for the government to estimate the public sector's spending and revenue intake outlook.

The government uses the experts' forecast to calculate its own economic estimates to draft the budget bill. Those official projections are expected to be released in late September.

"Starting with these averages, adequately filtered through statistical methods to reflect value tendencies, the GDP is estimated to grow 4.2 percent in 2010 and up to 4.5 percent in 2014," the government said.

(Reporting by Antonio de la Jara and Manuel Farias; Writing by Aaron Nelsen; Edited by Lisa Shumaker)

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