Economic overview of 2004

Metals and Minerals Markets

In 2004, the worldwide mining industry benefited from stronger, better synchronized global economic growth. It also continued to take advantage of the vigour of China's economy, in spite of various measures taken by the government to slow it down to a more sustainable pace. The resulting increase in consumption of metals and minerals was reflected in the prices of some of these commodities. Prices also greatly benefited from the depreciation of the American dollar for the second consecutive year and, in some cases, from major constraints in terms of supply.

The average annual prices of base metals (copper, nickel and zinc) rose significantly. For the third year in a row, there was a noticeable rise in the price of gold. The price of iron ore, fuelled by substantial growth in world steel production and ore imports by China, also increased considerably.