Jun

29

Copper Rises for Third Day on Expectations U.S. Spending Will Show Growth..

June 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Copper rose for a third day in London after a U.S. report on personal spending signaled improved growth, boosting demand for industrial metals.

Consumer spending in the U.S. rose in May more than forecast, a sign households are gaining confidence in the recovery and the job market. Purchases rose 0.2 percent after little change the prior month, Commerce Department figures showed today. Incomes climbed 0.4 and the savings rate increased to the highest level in eight months. Copper has dropped 7.5 percent this year.

“The numbers suggests that the U.S. economic recovery remains on track, though the pace of the recovery is probably a bit slow for most people’s liking,” David Thurtell, a Citigroup Inc. analyst in London, said by telephone.

Copper for delivery in three months jumped $36, or 0.5 percent, to $6,806 a metric ton at 1:49 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Prices rose to a four-week high of $6,875 on June 25 and reached $6,873 earlier today.

LME copper rose as much as 2.7 percent on June 25, supported by U.S. consumer confidence rising in June to the highest level since January 2008. Prices gained 5.2 percent last week, the most since the week ending Feb. 19, partly on speculation imports by China might increase after the People’s Bank of China indicated on June 19 it would abandon the yuan’s two-year peg to the dollar.

The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s strength, slid 0.5 percent last week, making dollar- priced metals cheaper in terms of other monies. The index gained as much as 0.3 percent today.

Sovereign-Debt Crisis

Copper has dropped this year as the dollar gained and investors speculated that monetary tightening in China and the European sovereign-debt crisis may curb demand.

Group of 20 leaders responded to the European debt crisis with deficit-reduction targets and agreed to pursue higher capital requirements for banks once economic recoveries take hold.

Stockpiles of copper tracked by the LME fell for a seventh day to 453,175 tons, the lowest level since Dec. 7. Bookings to remove metal from warehouses jumped for a third day to 31,900 tons, the highest since March 3. Copper stockpiles monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 8.8 percent last week to 123,939 tons, the bourse said on June 25.

Aluminum for three-month delivery on the LME rose 1 percent to $2,016 a ton. Stockpiles in LME-monitored warehouses dropped for a third consecutive day, down to 4.44 million tons and the lowest since July 13, 2009.

Aluminum producers in Henan province, the largest maker of the metal in China, agreed to curtail 700,000 tons of capacity, Wen Xianjun, the deputy head of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, said today by phone from Beijing.

Nickel gained 2.4 percent to $20,226 a ton. Zinc fell 0.3 percent to $1,866.75 a ton, lead advanced 1.4 percent to $1,840 a ton and tin was unchanged at $18,125 a ton.


Comments

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind