A slowdown in Chinese copper consumption is just a short-term bump in the road for the market, which is near all-time highs, the chief executive of Freeport McMoRan Copper + Gold (FCX) said Tuesday.

Speaking in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Richard Adkerson said China's thirst for copper was going to continue to be "significant."

"It's not like China's fallen off a cliff--it's still consuming a lot of copper," Adkerson said. "In the long run, China's need for copper is going to be significant, and I remain very optimistic about demand from the country, while being aware of short-term scenarios that can impact prices," he said.

In recent months, demand from China, the world's largest copper consumer, has slowed. Imports have fallen, and stocks in bonded warehouses there have risen.

But the impact on copper prices has been limited--the metal, used in housing and construction, hit record highs above $10,000 a metric ton recently and is now trading on the London Metal Exchange at levels not far from this.

Adkerson said the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa is a short-term uncertainty in the market but isn't likely to wreck the recovery in the global economy. "My sense is that it's not going to be something that will create dire global consequences. No-one knows how the situation will play out but at the end of the day it's in the interest of all the countries in MENA that can, to produce oil," he said.

Adkerson said demand for copper in the U.S and Europe is improving, although isn't yet back to levels seen prior to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the downturn it helped trigger in late 2008.

"There are a number of signs of recovery in the U.S.--not dramatic, no sharp, but we're seeing a number of positive signs there. The U.S. business community is much more positive than a year ago," said Adkerson. He noted that the commercial and residential construction industries are still suffering from oversupply of capacity.

"Recovery is also being seen in Europe, despite the sovereign debt problems that certain countries face," he said.

-By Andrea Hotter, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9413; andrea.hotter@dowjones.com
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