Copper Rises to One-Week High on Speculation Demand May Improve
By Anna Stablum and Millie Munshi
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices jumped to the highest in more than a week on speculation that an improving Chinese economy boosted prospects for metal demand.
Record lending and surging investment probably drove a 7.8 percent expansion in China’s economy in the second quarter, following the slowest growth in almost a decade, a survey of 20 economists by Bloomberg News showed. Copper gained 0.5 percent yesterday on improved investor sentiment.
“The optimism about an economic recovery has entered back into the market,” said Matthew Zeman, a trader at LaSalle Futures Group in Chicago. “Buyers are stepping back into the market, and that’s going to help copper prices improve.”
Copper futures for September delivery rose 7.6 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $2.299 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price reached $2.311, the highest for a most-active contract since July 2.
Copper has surged 63 percent this year as imports soared to a record in China, the world’s biggest metal user. The government will release statistics on gross domestic product on July 16.
“The markets are quietly optimistic,” said David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in London. “China is the big daddy in the metal market.”
Inventories of copper in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange fell for the sixth straight session to the lowest since Nov. 7.
Copper for delivery in three months climbed $150, or 3.1 percent, to $5,045 a metric ton on the LME. The price reached a record $8,940 on July 2, 2008.
Aluminum, tin, lead, zinc and nickel also gained on the LME.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Stablum in London at astablum@bloomberg.net; Millie Munshi in New York at mmunshi@bloomberg.net;
Last Updated: July 14, 2009 14:19 EDT
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