Copper will move up in price just on its fundamentals.
Shanghai Copper Futures Gain on Supply Concern Before Holiday
2005-04-19 05:59 (New York)
By Chia-Peck Wong
April 19 (Bloomberg) -- Copper futures in Shanghai rose for
a third day on speculation supplies in China, the world's biggest
consumer of the metal, may not be enough to meet demand before a
weeklong holiday in May.
The futures are the world's most actively traded metal
contract by volume today, with a total of 106,620 contracts, or
533,100 metric tons, changing hands. This compares with 19,424
copper futures contracts, or 220,267 tons, traded yesterday on
the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, according
to Bloomberg data.
China's producers of power cables and wire typically
increase copper purchases in the second quarter and need to build
stockpiles before the one-week Labor Day holiday beginning May 1,
Hu Jiangxue, an analyst at the Shanghai Oriental Futures, said.
``Consumers definitely will reserve some stocks before the
holiday,'' Hu said.
Copper for delivery in June on the Shanghai Futures Exchange
rose as much as 520 yuan, or 1.6 percent, to 32,910 yuan a ton,
the highest since April 13. It settled at 32,730 yuan ($3,955)
when trading closed at 3:00 p.m. local time.
Arrivals
About 30,000 tons of copper may have arrived in Shanghai
last week, with another 30,000 tons of imports expected this
week, Barclays Capital said in an e-mailed report on April 13.
The Shanghai Customs department doesn't disclose weekly figures
on imports.
Copper for immediate delivery on the Changjiang Nonferrous
Metals Spot Market, a cash price benchmark, rose to as high as
35,170 yuan a ton, from 34,340 yuan yesterday.
Supplies in China may not ease with the anticipated arrival
of 60,000 tons, said Shanghai Oriental's Hu.
``The first parcel of 30,000 tons that arrived last week may
have already been booked,'' he said.
The higher Changjiang price shows copper supply on the
physical market is tight, said Gu Yuan, a metal futures trader at
Star Futures Co. in Shanghai.
Stockpiles Fell
Stockpiles at seven warehouses registered in Shanghai fell
5.2 percent to 21,004 metric tons last week, equivalent to two
days of consumption in China.
On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three
months traded at $3,195 a ton at 3:01 p.m. Singapore time, from
$3,182 yesterday.
Copper for delivery in May on the Comex division of the New
York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.10 cent, or 0.1 percent, to
$1.444 a pound in after-hours trade at 3:03 p.m. Singapore time,
from $1.445 yesterday.
--With reporting by Tan Hwee Ann in Melbourne. Editors: White,
Shirodkar, Khandeparkar, Langan |
