Farallon Resources Ltd. (fka FRLIF)

[the cork]

Zinc rises, Copper Fluctuates in New York Trading, Reflecting Movement by the Dollar
By Anna Stablum - Sep 8, 2010 5:53 AM PT

Copper fluctuated in New York and London, swinging between gains and losses in line with movement by the dollar.

The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s strength, was little changed after falling as much as 0.3 percent. A weaker dollar makes raw materials priced in the currency less expensive in terms of other monies. The dollar slipped before the release of Federal Reserve figures that may indicate a stalling U.S. economic rebound.

“It’s all about the dollar,” Steve Hardcastle, an analyst at Sucden Financial Ltd. in London, said by phone. “We await the next U.S. data.”

Copper for delivery in December added 0.75 cent, or 0.2 percent, to $3.478 a pound at 8:43 a.m. on the Comex in New York. The contract gained as much as 0.7 percent and fell as much as 0.6 percent. Copper for delivery in three months rose 0.1 percent to $7,634.25 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.

The Fed’s survey of conditions in its 12 districts, known as the Beige Book, is due at 7 p.m. London time today. The U.S. jobless rate is likely to approach 10 percent in coming months as the economy fails to grow enough to employ people rejoining the labor force, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

“The Beige Book is likely to suggest that the U.S. economy isn’t exactly setting the world on fire,” said Citigroup Inc. analyst David Thurtell in London.

Inventories Shrink

LME copper stockpiles dropped for a fourth day to 394,500 tons, the lowest level since Nov. 10, according to daily exchange figures. Inventories have slid 21 percent this year, helping to boost the metal to a four-month high of $7,750 a ton on Sept. 3.

“Long-term fundamentals are still appealing,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said in a report. “Restocking will be driven by seasonal demand factors, with a pickup in economic activity later this autumn.”

Orders to draw copper from LME inventories, or canceled warrants, declined for a fifth day, sliding 3.2 percent to 23,900 tons.

Zinc for three-month delivery on the LME rose 1 percent to $2,210 a ton. Seoul-based Korea Zinc Co., the world’s second- biggest zinc smelter, said it will buy a Peruvian mine for $47.5 million to secure stable supplies of raw materials.

Aluminum fell 0.8 percent to $2,147 a ton and nickel gained 1.5 percent to $22,537 a ton. Tin rose 0.7 percent to $21,100 a ton and lead was little changed at $2,187 a ton.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-08/copper-falls-in-london-before-release-of-fed-s-beige-book-economic-survey.html