Copper Rises in London as China Industrial Output Beat Forecast
2005-05-18 07:54 (New York)
By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen
May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Copper futures rose in London after
Chinese industrial production grew faster than economists
expected, indicating rising demand in the world's largest copper-
consuming nation.
China's industrial output rose 16 percent in April from a
year ago, the government said. The median forecast of eight
economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted 14.6 percent growth.
``People may focus on the Chinese industrial production data
in the next few trading sessions,'' Neil Buxton, managing
director of GFMS Metals Consulting in London, said in a phone
interview. ``Outside China there are signs that demand is
slowing.''
Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal
Exchange rose $19, or 0.6 percent, at $3,025 a metric ton as of
12:30 p.m. local time. This year the contract for the metal used
in construction and power cables has fallen 4.2 percent.
``Consumer buying interest has picked up after copper prices
dipped below the $3,000-ton level,'' Ingrid Sternby, an analyst
at Barclays Capital in London, said in an e-mailed report. The
copper contract traded as low as $2,993 a ton today.
Copper inventories monitored by the LME fell 1.4 percent to
53,400 tons, the exchange reported today. This year, LME-
monitored stocks have risen 9.3 percent, after falling 88 percent
last year.
Buxton said LME-monitored stockpiles will probably rise more
significantly later this year because miners such as BHP Billiton
Ltd., the world's largest, increased production after copper
prices surged 37 percent last year.
Most other LME-traded metals for delivery in three months
fell. Aluminum was down $3, or 0.2 percent, to $1,731 ton. Nickel
fell $50, or 0.3 percent, to $15,950 while lead lost $1 to $938.
Zinc dropped $4, or 0.3 percent, at $1,236. Tin wasn't traded.
--With reporting by Xiao Yu in Beijing. Editor: A. Brown |
