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Gold/Mining/Energy : Copper - analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert Douglas who wrote (380)	8/15/2002 3:35:57 PM
From: Stephen O	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2131

Copper Rises as Report Signals Stronger U.S. Industrial Demand 2002-08-15 15:17 (New York) Copper Rises as Report Signals Stronger U.S. Industrial Demand New York, Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Copper futures had their biggest gain in seven weeks after a report from the Federal Reserve signaled stronger demand from U.S. automakers and other industrial users. U.S. production of motor vehicles and auto parts jumped 4.2 percent in July, the Fed said. The report rekindled trader interest in copper futures, which had sunk to a seven-month low yesterday on concern the U.S. economy was growing too slowly to stimulate industrial demand for metals. ``The copper market is looking at strength of companies that are major users of base metals,'' said Jim Steel, director of commodity research at Refco Inc. in New York. ``A lot of traders were beginning to wonder how much lower prices could go.'' Copper for September delivery rose 1.25 cents, or 1.9 percent, to 68.25 cents a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price since Aug. 1 and biggest one-day gain since June 28. Prices were 3.6 percent higher than a year earlier. In London, copper for delivery in three months rose $42, or 2.8 percent, to $1,521 a metric ton (68.99 cents a pound) on the London Metal Exchange. U.S. production of durable goods such as cars and appliances, which use copper, rose 2.5 percent last month, even as manufacturing overall showed a smaller 0.1 percent gain, the Fed report showed. An average automobile contains about 50 pounds of copper, according to the New York-based Copper Development Association. General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, raised its North American production plan for the third quarter by 1.4 percent from its plan in July. --Claudia Carpenter in the New York newsroom (212) 318-2346 or at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net with reporting by Monee Fields-White in Washington. Editors: Bixby, *Banker.