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

To: Stephen O who wrote (1269)	8/12/2005 10:36:50 AM
From: Stephen O	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2131

Copper Rises to Record on Signs of More Demand in Japan, Europe 2005-08-12 10:03 (New York) By Pham-Duy Nguyen Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices in New York surged to a record amid indications that economies in Japan and Europe are recovering, signaling inventories may not meet growing demand for the metal used in homes, cars and appliances. Copper futures for September delivery climbed 2.4 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $1.671 a pound at 10 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices earlier reached a $1.689, the highest ever. The metal has gained 1.3 percent this week, heading for the sixth straight weekly gain. Japan, the world's second-largest economy, grew at an annual 1.1 percent pace, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. Manufacturers including Yamaha Motor Co. are expanding factories to meet rising overseas orders. The European Commission said yesterday the euro region may grow at the fastest pace in almost two years by the end of 2005. ``You're getting good numbers out of so-called slow economies like Japan and Europe,'' said Michael Purdy, a trader at ABN Amro in New York. ``The bearish arguments are kind of disappearing'' for copper, he said. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose $50, or 1.4 percent, to $3,580 a metric ton ($1.6236 a pound) after reaching a record $3,605. Prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were little changed, falling 0.6 percent this week. A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a set price by a specific date. Global Inventories Stockpiles monitored by the LME, the world's biggest metals market, gained 1,125 metric tons, or 2.3 percent, to 50,925 tons today, adding 13,800 tons this week. Still, inventory is equal to about one day of global demand. Recent gains in inventory are ``irrelevant'' amid rising demand from Europe and Japan, Purdy said. Dwindling copper supplies and economic growth in China, the biggest user of the metal, have boosted prices. Global copper stockpiles monitored by the London, Shanghai and New York exchanges have declined 24 percent this year. Record prices have revived investor interest in copper, traders said. ``New highs brought in more fund buying,'' said Warren Gelman, president of Kataman Metals Inc., a trading firm in St. Louis. Mine strikes at Asarco LLC, which produces about 1 percent of the world's copper, may also give prices a boost, said Edward Meir, a metals analyst in Darien, Connecticut, for London-based Man Financial Ltd. Labor talks today are unlikely to end a five- week strike, he said. ``There's some nervousness about the Asarco situation,'' Meir said. ``It's not going to get resolved today.'' --Editor: McKiernan