Copper Futures Gain in N.Y. on Signs Supply Is Trailing Demand
2008-07-21 13:11:58.450 (New York)
By Millie Munshi
July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Copper gained on signs that global demand is outpacing production of the metal, used in pipes and wires.
Demand exceeded output by 108,000 metric tons in the first four months of the year, the International Copper Study Group said today. Copper gained 21 percent this year, reaching a record this month in London, as labor protests and falling ore grades reduced mine output.
``The copper market, in our view, remains very tight,''
David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said today in a Bloomberg Television interview.
Copper futures for September delivery gained 1.65 cents, or
0.4 percent, to $3.6855 a pound at 9:09 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The metal also rose as the price of oil climbed, Alex Heath, the head of trading of industrial metals at RBC Capital Markets, said today in a report.
Crude oil for August delivery added as much as 2.5 percent today on the Nymex. Some traders buy commodities as a hedge against inflation when energy prices increase.
Gains may be limited today after threats of labor unrest eased in Peru, Heath said.
Workers at Southern Copper Corp.'s Cuajone mine in Peru delayed the start of a strike, set for today, to provide time for negotiations, said Cirilo Yarihuaman, a spokesman for the Peru Mining Federation, a labor group.
On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months added $50, or 0.6 percent, to $8,135 a metric ton ($3.69 a pound).
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