Urbanization will bring a huge demand for housing, demand for steel, demand for cement, demand for roads, job opportunities and the need for culture.

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Cement is massively in demand for post-war rebuilding, but virtually none enters through legal channels.

BBC: Smuggling fuels Gaza's stalled economy

However, inventories are starting to come down and new housing starts will follow with a six-month lag, Barclays analysts said, providing some upside risk to demand for cement, steel and copper.

FORBES: More 'Green Shoots' In China

Commodity purveyors like paper, cement, chemicals and aluminum hold little upside price or demand leverage in 1998.

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Strong FAI is bullish for commodities demand as increased industrial activity and construction gobbles up more cement, iron ore, crude oil and copper.

FORBES: China Bull Still Runs Strong Even If Slower

The development is part of ambitious plans to further cement Australia's position as the world's largest coal exporter against a backdrop of booming global demand, by opening up deposits in the Galilee Basin in Queensland state.

WSJ: GVK: Bidders Line up for Giant Australian Coal Mine