An interesting article on the outlook for commodities in 2012 including copper. I particularly liked the following comment which is good for CUU.

“The global mining industry currently operates with little available excess capacity. Although down from earlier peaks, current spot prices for coal, copper and iron ore are up by 50 to 75 percent over the past two years and provide sufficient returns to justify continued mine expansion by all but the highest cost producers. A positive longer term outlook combined with stronger balance sheets and substantial cash on hand allows mining companies to continue making strategic investment decisions despite near term uncertainty. Miners remain focused on deploying capital expenditures to generate organic growth throughout the cycle. As a result, a number of major mining companies have announced increased capital expenditure budgets for 2012, and they continue to receive Board approvals of major green field projects.”

Here is the full article with some conclusions about stable copper prices.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/314942-from-destocking-to-restocking-joy-global-weakens-case-for-a-commodities-crash