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

To: Mac who wrote (1038)	12/1/2004 10:35:50 AM
From: Stephen O	Respond to of 2131

Copper Rises in London After Dollar Falls to Record vs Euro By Simon Casey and Matthew Craze Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices rose in London as the dollar weakened to a record low against the euro, making dollar- denominated metals cheaper for holders of the European currency. The dollar has fallen on speculation U.S. officials favor a weaker currency to help narrow a record current-account deficit. The dollar today touched $1.3336 per euro, the lowest since the euro was launched in 1999. ``The dollar overall is still providing support,'' Roy Carson, a trader at Triland Metals in London, said in a telephone interview. The euro traded at $1.3203 at 10:50 a.m. London time, according to EBS, an electronic currency-dealing system. Copper for delivery in three months rose $15, or 0.5 percent, to $3,110 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. The metal, turned into electrical wiring and plumbing pipes, has gained 10 percent in the past month as Chinese demand drained inventories to less than three days' global use. ``The price of copper has exploded,'' Werner Marnette, chief executive of Norddeutsche Affinerie AG, Europe's largest copper producer, said at an investor conference in Frankfurt yesterday. ``I've never seen before what has happened since the beginning of this year -- this steep increase driven by physical demand.'' Inventories monitored by exchanges in London, New York and Shanghai have fallen about 85 percent this year to 130,277 tons. LME stockpiles fell 0.3 percent to 59,775 tons, a day after rising 1.1 percent. This is the lowest level since July 1990. ``Inventories are now so low that one could buy all the current copper, lead, nickel and tin stocks for less than $500 million,'' said Nick Moore, analyst at ABN Amro Bank in London. Copper for delivery in three months fell 0.6 percent yesterday after some investors sold close to the so-called resistance point of $3,140 a ton, where traders said buy or sell orders may be clustered. In other metals, aluminum rose $7 to $1,847 and nickel rose $40 to $14,300. Lead rose $13 to $965 and zinc rose $7 to $1,177. Tin rose $65 to $8,800. --Editor: A. Brown