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

To: TheSlowLane who wrote (1515)	11/24/2006 11:06:28 AM
From: Stephen O	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2131

Copper Prices Gain Most in a Month on Indian Smelter Shutdown 2006-11-24 09:44 (New York) By Millie Munshi Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices in New York rose the most in a month after Hindalco Industries Ltd., India's biggest refiner of the metal, shut a smelter, triggering supply concerns. Before today, the price of copper in New York had gained 54 percent this year, partly because of supply disruptions from Chile to Indonesia. Hindalco closed the smallest of its three plants after declining ore supplies reduced processing and refining charges, Chief Financial Officer Sunirmal Talukdar said. ``The partial closure of the big smelting complex is certainly giving strength to prices today,'' said Stephen Briggs, a London- based analyst at Societe Generale. ``It won't result in a huge disruption, though. The supply bottleneck is at the mine level, not at the smelter.'' Copper futures for March delivery jumped 9.9 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $3.235 at 9:41 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A close at that price would mark the biggest percentage gain since Oct. 16. The exchange was closed yesterday for the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday. Copper reached a record $4.04 a pound in mid-May. A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a set price for delivery by a specific date. Copper for delivery in three months gained $170, or 2.4 percent, to $7,150 on the London Metal Exchange. Prices gained 1.2 percent yesterday and are up 3.9 percent this week, snapping a four-week slide. The metal, traded in dollars, also gained strength after the U.S. currency fell to its lowest in 19 months against the euro. ``After such a big fall in the dollar, you're bound to see prices move up,'' Briggs said. --With reporting by Thomas Kutty Abraham in Mumbai and Kabir Chibber in London. Editor: McKiernan