We are lowering our rating on the copper industry to neutral from favorable as demand in the United States and some parts of Asia are weaker than expected.
Our revision does not guarantee that the copper market moves to surplus, but it does suggest the market is coming closer into balance.
We are not reducing our earnings estimates or our price target, but we do not have the confidence in current copper demand to raise our copper price estimate of $2 per pound to the current copper price of $2.31 or our price target above $160.