By Steve James
NEW YORK (Reuters) - With gold nudging $1,000 per ounce, silver at 27-year highs and copper approaching record prices over $4 per pound, some metal industry analysts believe the current boom still has years to run.
On Friday, Friedman Billings Ramsey raised its price forecasts for aluminum, copper, zinc and gold, citing the recent run-up in commodities driven by investment fund flows and dollar weakness.
The brokerage firm raised its 2008 aluminum price forecast to $1.27 per pound from $1.15, copper to $3.33 per pound from $2.94, zinc to $1.11 per pound from $1.00 and gold to $875 per ounce from $825.
Citigroup Global Markets also raised its copper price view to $3.00, aluminum to $1.20 per pound, nickel to $10 per pound and zinc to $1.05 per pound by the second half of 2008.
"Base metal prices are up on average 27 percent since the start of the year and copper has reached an all-time high at the same time as the U.S. heads into recession," said Citigroup analyst Alan Heap.
"Even in a super cycle this is an amazing performance," he wrote in a research note.
In such a hot sector, the question among analysts is how long can the boom last in a notoriously cyclical industry. This is one of the issues that will be explored by mining industry executives at the March 10-12 Reuters Mining Summit in New York, London and Sydney.
"We are in the camp that thinks the cycle will continue higher in view of the tremendous demand movement which should last well into the next decade," said Evan Smith, co-manager of U.S. Global Investors Inc of San Antonio, Texas. Continued...
© Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved.
| Japan Investment | Jul 01 - 2, 2008 | Country Summits |
| Global Real Estate | Jun 23 - 25, 2008 | Real Estate |
| Consumer and Retail | Jun 16 - 18, 2008 | Consumer Retail |
| Investment Outlook | Jun 09 - 12, 2008 | Financial Services / Exchanges |
| Global Energy | Jun 01 - 5, 2008 | Energy |
