Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Stephen O who wrote (1203)	5/24/2005 8:01:41 PM
From: Stephen O	Respond to of 2131

Copper Rises for Third Straight Session Amid Falling Stockpiles 2005-05-24 14:09 (New York) By Choy Leng Yeong May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices in New York rose for a third straight session on signs supply is falling short of demand for the metal used in homes, cars and other appliances. Inventory in warehouses monitored by the Comex, the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange, dropped 0.6 percent today to 104,512 metric tons, down 72 percent in the past year. Copper sold in dollars also rose as the U.S. currency fell from a seven-month high against the euro. ``Copper inventories are pretty low,'' said Charles Bradford, a metals analyst at Soleil Securities Corp. in New York. With a weaker dollar, ``copper becomes cheaper elsewhere in the world in local currency terms and that increases demand.'' Copper futures for July delivery climbed 1.65 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $1.405 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price for a most-active contract since May 11. Prices reached a 16-year high of $1.536 on April 12. A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a set price by a specific date. Canceled warrants, which indicate how much copper vendors plan to move out of LME warehouses, jumped 73 percent to 10,025 tons in the past four sessions, representing a fifth of the inventory remaining. ``Robust western world demand, large Chinese metal requirements and low inventory levels are likely to drive prices higher,'' Barclays Capital in London said in a report today. U.S. Home Resales Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S., the second- largest copper consumer after China, rose 4.5 percent in April to a record 7.18 million units at an annual rate, the National Association of Realtors said today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 55 economists had resales increasing by to 6.9 million. Builders are the biggest user of copper, accounting for 40 percent of demand. An average single-family home contains about 400 pounds of the metal, according to the Copper Development Association, a New York-based industry group. In the week ended May 17, speculators reduced holdings in copper futures to the lowest since June 22, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on May 20. Speculative long positions, or bets prices will rise, outnumbered short positions by 3,321 contracts on the Comex, the Washington-based agency said in its Commitments of Traders report. Net-long positions fell by 13,563 contracts, or 80 percent, from a week earlier. ``A substantial reduction in fund length, coupled with low inventories, suggests downside price risk is limited, even under a scenario where the dollar continues to appreciate and economic activity moderates,'' Barclays said. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose $15, or 0.5 percent, to $3,050 a metric ton ($1.3835 a pound). --Editors: McKiernan, Enoch

To: Stephen O who wrote (1203)	5/24/2005 8:27:54 PM
From: Stephen O	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2131

Update from Reuters UPDATE 2-Peru's Tintaya output normal despite protest Tue May 24, 2005 06:58 PM ET By Miguel Zegarra AREQUIPA, Peru, May 24 (Reuters) - More than 2,000 people demanding more investment in local infrastructure broke into BHP Billiton's (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) Tintaya copper mine in southern Peru on Tuesday and sparked chaos, but production was unaffected, mine officials said. "Mining activity has not been halted. Shifts have been conducted normally," spokemsan Richard Adahui told Reuters from the mine camp in the province of Cusco. The mine, Peru's third biggest copper producer, has its head office in the southern city of Arequipa. The mine's vice president Lucio Rios told RPP radio earlier the protesters were blocking entry to the mine and had set fire to grassland within the mine camp after clashing with and stoning police. Police had responded with tear gas. "The situation is chaotic," he said. Adahui said administrative staff had been evacuated starting from Monday, when around 500 protesters entered the camp. He said there had been damage to administrative offices, where there were around 500 protesters. He gave no details. Fires which had been started inside the camp had all been brought under control, he said, adding a statement would be released shortly. MINING PROTESTS COMMON IN PERU Tintaya was Peru's third biggest producer in March, producing around 12.1 percent of the country's copper output, behind Antamina and Southern Peru (SPC.LM: Quote, Profile, Research) (PCU.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , which had 39 percent and 33.5 percent, respectively, according to Energy and Mines Ministry data. Antamina is owned by BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) , Noranda Inc. (NRD.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) , Teck-Cominco Ltd. (TEKb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and Mitsubishi Corp. (8058.T: Quote, Profile, Research) . Tintaya's production in March fell 11.2 percent because of mineral conditions. Protests against mining are common in mineral-rich Peru by residents who fear their agricultural livelihood will be jeopardized or locals who say they are not seeing enough of the benefit from the vast investments by rich forign mining firms. Oscar Gonzalez, vice president of the private National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy, said the protesters accused Tintaya of seeking to backtrack on social agreements made two years ago -- a charge he said the company denied. Among other things, they were demanding a 125-mile (200-km) stretch of road be paved and other works worth $20 million, way beyond the current agreement to invest $1.5 million, Gonzalez, who is also president of Southern Peru, told CPN radio.