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

To: schzammm who wrote (1198)	5/18/2005 10:30:00 AM
From: Stephen O	Respond to of 2131

Copper Rises in London as China Industrial Output Beat Forecast 2005-05-18 07:54 (New York) By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Copper futures rose in London after Chinese industrial production grew faster than economists expected, indicating rising demand in the world's largest copper- consuming nation. China's industrial output rose 16 percent in April from a year ago, the government said. The median forecast of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted 14.6 percent growth. ``People may focus on the Chinese industrial production data in the next few trading sessions,'' Neil Buxton, managing director of GFMS Metals Consulting in London, said in a phone interview. ``Outside China there are signs that demand is slowing.'' Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange rose $19, or 0.6 percent, at $3,025 a metric ton as of 12:30 p.m. local time. This year the contract for the metal used in construction and power cables has fallen 4.2 percent. ``Consumer buying interest has picked up after copper prices dipped below the $3,000-ton level,'' Ingrid Sternby, an analyst at Barclays Capital in London, said in an e-mailed report. The copper contract traded as low as $2,993 a ton today. Copper inventories monitored by the LME fell 1.4 percent to 53,400 tons, the exchange reported today. This year, LME- monitored stocks have risen 9.3 percent, after falling 88 percent last year. Buxton said LME-monitored stockpiles will probably rise more significantly later this year because miners such as BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest, increased production after copper prices surged 37 percent last year. Most other LME-traded metals for delivery in three months fell. Aluminum was down $3, or 0.2 percent, to $1,731 ton. Nickel fell $50, or 0.3 percent, to $15,950 while lead lost $1 to $938. Zinc dropped $4, or 0.3 percent, at $1,236. Tin wasn't traded. --With reporting by Xiao Yu in Beijing. Editor: A. Brown