Anglo sees ease in China growth

Sydney - Commodities growth in China may ease over the short-term, though longer term the country's fundamentals were sound, the head of miner Anglo American said on Monday.

The easing may occur despite near-record imports of copper and coking coal in recent months as China's fiscal stimulus begins to counter the downturn in exports, Anglo American Chief Executive Cynthia Carroll said in a speech in the Australian city of Brisbane.

She also said difficult financing conditions felt by the mining sector were expected to continue.

This would "impact the funding and timing of many potential mines and expansons, constraining supply as economic growth returns," Carroll said.

Recovering prices for industrial staples such as copper, nickel and metallurgical coal indicate that outlook for Anglo's markets had improved faster than most observers expected, Carroll said.

"But there are still some question marks over the sustainability of the recovery," she said.

"Continued deleveraging by households, companies and banks and the shadow of rising unemployment and large budget deficits in the major western economies are still a great concern."

However, stimulus spending outside of China would be particularly positive for platinum group metals and diamonds, she said.

- Reuters