Copper Rises Most in Week as Supply Falls, Chinese Demand Grows
2007-02-13 09:10 (New York)
By Halia Pavliva and Millie Munshi
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices in New York rose the
most in a week as declining global stockpiles signaled improving
demand from China, world's biggest consumer of the metal.
Inventories monitored by exchanges in London, New York and
Shanghai declined 1 percent, the biggest drop in two weeks.
China's copper and copper-product imports jumped 44 in January
from a year earlier, signaling demand may pick up for stockpiles
that had jumped 62 percent in the past six months.
``Copper is more than making up yesterday's losses, as
participants find it hard to ignore the steady news from China
of improving cooper demand,'' Edward Meir, a commodities analyst
at Man Financial Inc. in Darien, Connecticut, said in a report.
``Although inventories have yet to show it, we are no doubt
seeing a marked improvement in overall off take.''
Copper futures for March delivery rose 7.65 cents, or 3.1
percent, to $2.554 a pound at 9:09 a.m. on the Comex division of
the New York Mercantile Exchange. A close at that price would be
the biggest gain since Feb. 6. Rising supplies have sent prices
down 13 percent this year and 38 percent since reaching a record
$4.04 on May 11. Still, the metal rose 4 percent last week and
has gained in two of the past three weeks.
Global stockpiles of the metal used in pipes and wires fell
2,800 metric tons today to 272,732 tons, based on data compiled
by the exchanges in New York, London and Shanghai. The
inventories are down 80 percent from 1.3 million tons in January
2003. Copper has more than tripled in price during the past five
years, partly because of increasing demand in China.
Chinese Imports
China imported 11 percent more of the metal and its
products in December, the first year-on-year gain since October
2005, the Beijing-based customs office said on its Web site
yesterday. Chinese copper imports had been declining year-on-
year because of an increase in domestic production, releases
from state stockpiles and more use of copper scrap as an
alternative.
Chinese imports of refined copper and alloys rose 55
percent to 101,344 tons in December, according to customs
figures released near the end of last month.
Copper output in Zambia, Africa's biggest producer of the
metal, dropped 21 percent in December, the Lusaka-based Bank of
Zambia said in statement handed to Bloomberg news today.
Production fell to 35,709 metric tons, from 44,957 tons a
year earlier, the central bank said. Exports declined 29 percent
to 34,383 tons from 48,480, it said.
Inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange declined
1.3 percent, to 231,250 metric tons.
On the LME, copper for delivery in three months rose $170,
or 3.1 percent, to $5,640 a metric ton at 3:04 p.m. local time.
Prices have fallen 36 percent from a record $8,800 in May.
--With reporting by Xiaowei Li in Shanghai and Geoffrey Kapembwa
in Lusaka. Editor: Stroth. |
