By Suzanna Kerridge, 22 October 1998 00:30
NEWS Metal traders are this week being warned that the millennium bug could cause a drastic increase in copper prices. Speaking at the Aluminium Metal Conference at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London, Martin Squires, analyst at brokerage Rudolf Wolff, said millennium bug jitters will encourage mines to stockpile reserves. He claims trade flows will be disrupted by power supply failures, and companies will switch from 'just in time' to 'just in case' buying strategies. According to Squires this will boost metal demand and drive up prices. According to HSBC Securities, this year's surplus copper is expected to level at 272,000 metric tons. But this number will double to 569,000 tons in 1999. The financial institution predicted the best chance of reduction in price is to slow down productivity.
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