5 Copper ETFs Poised For Growth In 2011

In 2010, copper locked in a second consecutive annual gain of nearly 33 percent as demand remained elevated due to growth in emerging markets and a weak dollar.  As for the future of the industrial metal, copper’s outlook remains rosy as a supply and demand imbalance is expected to take place providing positive price support to the Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX), the iPath Dow Jones Copper Index ETN (JJC), the First Trust ISE Global Copper Index Fund (CU), the PowerShares DB Base Metals (DBB) and the iShares MSCI Chile Index (ECH).

According to the International Copper Study Group, a copper deficit of 435,000 metric tons in 2011 is expected to emerge in the markets, marking the first deficit in three years, during which global production has averaged 18 million tons.  On the demand side, one of the primary driver’s of increased demand is economic expansion in emerging markets.  The developing world is expected to at the forefront of global economic growth and with this the need for improved infrastructure and increased construction and manufacturing is expected to keep demand for copper, which is used in electrical wiring, plumbing and in heating and cooling systems, elevated.