South Korea says to spend $460mn to buy metals in 2012

SEOUL: South Korea will spend 530 billion won ($460.07 million) this year to buy non-ferrous metals, mainly aluminium and copper, up 47 percent from last year, the state-run Public Procurement Service said on Tuesday.

The spending is to replenish inventories and "will focus on aluminium and copper purchases and adding a small volume of tin, but we have sufficient inventories of nickel, lead and zinc," an official at the agency told Reuters by phone, declining to break down the purchase plans by metal.

Metal prices are expected to stay weak in the first half but strengthen in the second, and price volatility could rise due to issues such as the euro zone debt crisis, the agency said in a statement.