09.03.2015 - Commodities Routed as China Cuts Growth
As China’s top economic officials announced a slower economic growth forecast, the commodities markets are bracing for another rout in 2015. Last Thursday at the National People’s Congress, China Premier Li Keqiang lowered the country’s economic growth forecast to “about 7 percent,” confirming a period of “new normal” of sluggish investments, overcapacity, and slowing infrastructure projects. It’s a harrowing thought for commodity producers. Since the early 2000s, China’s investment in factories, infrastructure, and real estate has largely driven the commodities boom over the last decade. According to data from Australian bank Macquarie, China last year accounted for more than half of the world’s consumption of iron ore, around half of the global demand for aluminum and nickel, and more than 40 percent of the world’s demand for copper and zinc...............................................Full Article: Source
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