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

To: russwinter who wrote (1071)	12/23/2004 12:01:11 PM
From: Stephen O	Respond to of 2131

Copper Prices Rise on Signs Demand Outpaces Growth in Supply By Claudia Carpenter Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices in New York rose, resuming a rally that has sent prices up 35 percent this year, as declines in global inventory signal higher demand from manufacturers of wire and pipe. Stockpiles of metal in warehouses approved by the London Metal Exchange have plunged 88 percent this year as global supply from mines and scrap yards fell short of growing consumption, especially in China and the U.S. Prices fell 2.3 percent yesterday on speculation that hedge funds would trim their holdings after prices reached a two-month high. ``The fundamentals of copper are very, very strong,'' said James Koppel, a managing director at SG Commodities Group, a New York-based trading unit of France's Societe Generale SA. ``I'm overall bullish.'' Copper futures for March delivery rose 0.85 cent, or 0.6 percent, to $1.418 a pound at 11:13 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have climbed 1.3 percent this week, heading for the second straight weekly gain. Trading will end early today at 12:05 p.m., instead of the usual 1 p.m. close, and the exchange will be shut tomorrow for Christmas. ``There was a little bit of fund buying early,'' said Ron Kramer, a partner at Smith & Moore, a copper-trading company in New York. ``It's just quiet.'' A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a set price by a specific date. --Editor: McKiernan