Ed Miliband was helped by events such as the surge in oil prices and Britain's slip back into negative growth late last year.

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Ira Epstein, director of the Ira Epstein division of The Linn Group, said in the near-term he believes the negative seasonal tendency for metals to slip will take over.

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That means acute negative features of an economy can persist for decades, once they slip off the main agenda.

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