Some Jawdropping Facts About Chinese Commodity Consumption‘ – reading time 1 minute – says a newsletter writer has reported that “while China’s GDP is only 9.4% of the global economy, and its population is 19% of the world population” that China currently is consuming (rounded numbers) 41% of global aluminum demand, 39% of global copper demand, 47% of global coal demand, 48% of global iron ore demand, 45% of global lead demand, 36% of global nickel demand, and 41% of global zinc demand.

 I have long said in these e-mails that prospective base metal prices were dependent, to some large degree, on China’s continued high growth rates.  I have not independently verified the percentages set out in the previous paragraph, but if they are close to being right they clearly (or so I think) support my view on base metal prices ‘dependencies’ going forward.  All in aid of saying that if you are invested in base metal exploration or producing equities, or are thinking of investing in such companies, I suggest you continuously monitor China’s economic drivers and economic growth expectations very carefully in coming months and years.

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