JPMorgan Raises Base-Metals Forecasts, Expecting Revived Demand

BEIJING, July 29 -- Jiangxi Copper Co., China's biggest producer of the metal, fell in Hong Kong trading as investors deemed a 20 percent rally in the past four days were not justified by profit expectations.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jiangxi Copper dropped as much as 4.6 percent, the most since June 23, and traded down 3.8 percent to HK$17.16 at 11:06 a.m. local time. It fell 4.6 percent to 44.65 yuan in Shanghai.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; First-half profit tumbled between 57 percent and 64 percent from 3.08 billion yuan ($451 million), or 1.02 yuan a share, the Guixi, Jiangxi province-based company said yesterday. That indicates income of between 1.11 billion yuan and 1.32 billion yuan. The mean earnings per share estimate of six analysts compiled by Bloomberg is 0.217 yuan.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Today's fall is because the stock market has gained too much recently, so it's time for a correction,&quot; Heng Kun, an analyst at Essence Securities Co., said by phone from Shanghai. &quot;The forecast shows second-quarter profit is much better than I had expected mostly due to a price premium in China over the London Metal Exchange.&quot;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Copper futures in China have surged 83 percent this year, exceeding the 78 percent gain on the London Metal Exchange.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (Source: Bloomberg) 
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