Copper Rises in London on Chinese Buying as Inventory Drops
By Simon Casey
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Copper futures rose in London after
buyers in China, the world's largest consumer of the metal used
to make power cables and plumbing, stepped up purchases amid
falling inventory.
Stockpiles of the metal monitored by exchanges in London,
New York and Shanghai have plunged 86 percent this year to
125,255 metric tons, less than three days' global usage,
according to data complied by Bloomberg. Consumption will exceed
production this year and in 2005, analysts said.
``We saw reasonable Chinese buying on copper overnight,''
said Robert Barham, a trader at IFX Markets in London, in a
telephone interview. ``People are still looking at these stocks
which are being drawn down day after day.''
Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal
Exchange gained $30, or 1.1 percent, to $2,895 a metric ton at
8:46 a.m. London time.
The metal fell 3.1 percent yesterday to close at a five-
week low of $2,865 after the dollar strengthened against the
euro, making dollar-denominated commodities like metals more
expensive for holders of the European currency. Copper closed at
a 16-year high of $3,179.50 on Oct. 11.
Global copper consumption will rise 9.3 percent in 2004 to
17 million tons, exceeding output by 979,000 tons, Macquarie
Bank forecast yesterday. The deficit in 2005 will be 368,000
tons, the bank said.
Most other metals also rose on the LME. Aluminum increased
$8 to $1,808, nickel rose $125 to $12,850, zinc was up $7 to
$1,148 and lead rose $2 to $925. Tin slipped $20 to $8,690.
--Editor: A. Brown |
