Copper Heads for Weekly Gain on Drops in Mine Output, Inventory
2006-03-24 03:20 (New York)
By Simon Casey
March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Copper headed for a second
consecutive weekly gain in London after production was cut at an
Indonesian mine and stockpiles dropped, reducing supply of the
metal used in power cables.
Newmont Mining Corp. said yesterday 45 million pounds, or
20,400 metric tons, of production at its Batu Hijau mine in
Indonesia will be deferred to future years because of unstable
earth conditions. Inventory monitored by commodity exchanges in
London, New York and Shanghai has slumped 7.1 percent this week
to 191,536 metric tons, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The rally in copper prices is ``not a demand story; it's a
supply one,'' David Thurtell, a commodity strategist at
Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. in Sydney, said in an
interview today. ``The last two years the copper market has seen
continual disruptions to supply.''
Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal
Exchange was unchanged at $5,235 a metric ton as of 8:12 a.m., a
2 percent gain for the week. Yesterday the metal rose to a record
$5,250.
Pipe makers and wiring manufacturers may need exchange
stockpiles and other inventory to make up for a production
shortfall forecast by some analysts for 2006. Output will lag
behind demand by 207,000 tons this year, London-based consulting
company Bloomsbury Minerals Economics Ltd. said last month.
Among other metals for delivery in three months on the LME,
aluminum fell $1 to $2,532 a ton. Zinc dropped $1 to $2,570, lead
rose $12 to $1,242, nickel increased $25 to $15,375 and tin was
$25 lower at $8,200.
--With reporting by Christian Schmollinger in Singapore and Nigel
Stevenson in London. Editor: Wallace |
