On 11-Aug we hear this out of Newman (date on link is the 18th, but it's an updated one):
“These stockpiles are in ‘weak hands’ as speculators have no real use for base metals,” Liu wrote. “When the market sentiment turns, they are very likely to turn into quick sellers, especially when the bank’s money is involved.” Metal prices, which have surged 66 percent this year, are looking “frothy” and increasing stockpiles are threatening the rally, Goldman Sachs JBWere Pty. said this month. Copper, aluminum and other metals shipments to China soared to a record this year as expanding loans and the government’s 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus program boosted demand and prices. “Some of the stored metals are already flowing into the market as those investors think they’ve earned enough,” Deng Limin, a trader at Eramet SA, said by phone from Shanghai. Paris-based Eramet runs the world’s biggest ferronickel plant.
Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold advanced on Wednesday as a Goldman Sachs analyst added the stock to the firm's "Americas Conviction Buy List" predicting it will surge on an expected rise in demand for copper, which will drive up prices. The Phoenix-based mining company saw its shares gain $1.62, or 2.7 percent, to $62.10. Goldman Sachs analyst Sal Tharani said in an investor note Tuesday he expects a "rapid acceleration in copper demand" and a "supply-side hurdle" which will drive up copper prices to sustainable and high levels. He forecast strong demand, especially from emerging markets like China. Supply will likely be strained by challenges in the exploration and commissioning of new projects, he added. Tharani rates the stock a "Buy" with a 6-month price target of $90. That price target implies the stock will surge 48.8 percent over the next 6 months. He also raised the firm's base metals coverage view to "Attractive" from "Neutral."
