Standard Bank: Copper Demand on the Rise in China

(Beijing) – While copper demand is set to soften on a global level, China's consumption of refined copper is expected to rise 6.6 percent to 8.4 million tons in 2012, Standard Bank said in a recent study.

The construction sector, which now accounts for 55 percent of China's refined copper production, will generate a demand of 4.3 million tons this year, an increase of 145,000 tons from a year earlier, thanks to expanded construction nationwide, said the South African bank.