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The International Copper Promotion Council (ICPC) is expecting Indian demand growth to be cut by almost half, to 8-9 percent this fiscal year, down from an average of 15% over the past two years. Strong industrial growth, residential construction and consumer spending have spurred on demand in Asia's third-largest economy, with copper consumption reaching 512,000t in 2007. However, rising inflation, and the subsequent hike in interest rates, looks set to cool demand growth this year. Industrial growth for June was reported at 5.4%, nearly half what it was in 2007. "The consumption of copper -based appliances in the white goods segment will slow down due to a reduced rate of growth in disposable incomes. This will also be a dampener on copper consumption," said a member of the ICPC in India. Ongoing government investment in power infrastructure and a growing emphasis on more energy-efficient appliances will protect demand, according to the ICPC, "partly cushioning the impact of a moderating economy."

Wolverine Tube has announced the sale of its Canadian plumbing tube unit as part of its long-term growth strategy. The sale, worth $42 million, would enable the company to focus "its business and capital on the development and sale of value-added, energy-efficient heat-transfer tubing, fabricated assemblies and metal joining products to market leading customers", the chairman of Wolverine said. Wolverine's debts of over $260 million would be reduced to less than $133 million following the sale, reducing to under $100 million by the end of the year. The company said it's annual revenue would reach around $850 million following the sale and that better economic conditions in 2009 should help to "foster the company's growth".

Some Chinese air conditioner manufacturers, including GREE, Hisense and Haier have recently increased their selling prices by RMB100 - RMB200 nationwide in response to rising costs, mainly attributed to higher copper prices. Chinese air conditioners are now, on average, RMB463 more expensive than last year, representing a price increase of 16.3%. It was reported that sales over the past year increased and production rose by 41.8% y-o-y in H1 2011. Demand is expected to weaken as autumn approaches but prices may climb further depending on copper price movements and the degree to which manufacturers' margins are squeezed by the recent removal of the energy-efficient air conditioner subsidy.