General interest, excerpted from article: Bucking the Trend and Picking the Unloved:

Copper: The red metal has had a dismal year. It hit a record $4.60 (U.S.) a pound last February before fears about weakening growth in China and Europe sent it tumbling to $3.40 by December.

The metal could stage a recovery in 2012. If China resumes its expansionist policies, then prices for the vital industrial metal will climb, says Patricia Mohr, commodity market specialist at Bank of Nova Scotia.

China consumes 42 per cent of the world’s copper production, she estimates. As long as the Asian nation continues to grow strongly, it will provide solid support for metal prices.

The risk, of course, is that the Chinese economy will hit the skids. Ms. Mohr thinks that’s unlikely. While many economists have grown concerned about China’s red hot housing market, she says the government stands ready to offset any downturn in private construction projects. Among other initiatives, it plans to build 20 million social housing apartments over two years.

Ms. Mohr thinks that $4 a pound is a realistic price for the industrial metal by the end of 2012, because global demand is exceeding supply. If that’s the case, investors who hold copper mining stocks stand to benefit.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/features/2012-market-outlook/what-some-of-todays-most-hated-assets-can-offer-the-contrarian-investor/article2287873/