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Lead falls, while Zinc rises, Copper Pares Gains in Asia as Strong Dollar Cools Metal Demand

By Glenys Sim

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Copper pared gains in Asia as the dollar’s rebound made raw materials priced in the U.S. currency less attractive to investors.

The dollar traded near a two-month high against the euro on speculation the economic recovery will pressure the Federal Reserve to raise borrowing costs. It climbed against 14 of its 16 major counterparts before reports this week forecast to show U.S. industries boosted output and housing starts rebounded.

“More recently, the dollar’s performance has been driving metals and this looks likely to continue in the near term,” said Yuan Fang, a trader at Shanghai East Asia Futures Co.

Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange traded little changed at $6,925 a metric ton by 3 p.m. in Singapore, after gaining as much as 0.5 percent earlier. The contract for March delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was barely changed at $3.1555 a pound.

March-delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended the day little changed at 55,110 yuan ($8,071) a ton, after earlier climbing as much as 0.6 percent.

The metal used in power cables and construction more than doubled this year as the global economy recovers from its worst postwar recession. Copper imports by China, the world’s largest metals user, rebounded from a nine-month low in November even as stockpiles shrank to a two-month low last week.

“It is mainly China’s demand that has fueled the rally in prices,” said Yuan. “This is widely expected to continue into next year and along with expectations of a recovery in demand from users outside of China, we may see higher prices yet.”

Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum advanced 0.3 percent to $2,265 a ton, zinc rose 0.4 percent to $2,344 a ton and nickel was little changed at $16,906 a ton. Lead fell 0.2 percent to $2,335 a ton, while tin slid 0.3 percent to $15,260 a ton by 3:01 p.m. in Singapore.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aLFO331mZcZo