Copper Climbs on Signs Economy May Revive, Spur Metal Demand...

Copper Climbs on Signs Economy May Revive, Spur Metal Demand

June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices gained after the index of U.S. leading economic indicators rose in May, adding to evidence that the global recession may be near a bottom.

The indicators index for the world’s biggest economy rose 1.2 percent in the six months through May, following a 1.1 percent climb in April, the biggest back-to-back gains since 2001, the New York-based Conference Board reported today. The private research group produces the index. Copper is made into pipes and wires used in telecommunications and construction.

“On the one hand, a brightening macro picture is cause for optimism, while on the other, speculation over a pending slowdown in Chinese demand is cause for concern,” London-based analysts at Barclays Capital, including Gayle Berry and Suki Cooper, said today in a report. “Until there is a clear signal, one way or the other, prices will most likely be range-bound.”

Copper futures for September delivery climbed 1.25 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $2.282 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. Copper for delivery in three months gained $10, or 0.2 percent, to $4,970 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.
“For copper in particular, we believe that we will have to see inventories rise before prices come under any significant downside pressure,” Barclays said in the report. “Even then the downside is likely to be more limited than for some other metals, given keen investor interest and consumer buying.”

Pullback Concerns
“While copper is widely perceived to have the strongest fundamentals of any of the base metals on a one- to two-year view, in the short term, we have concerns that the market could face a significant pullback,” Macquarie Bank Group analysts including Jim Lennon and Adam Rowley said today in a report. “The key concern centers around the scale of Chinese buying.”

Inventories of copper in Shanghai warehouses rose to the highest since March 2008 last week. Imports of copper into China are likely to slow in the next few months, said Max Layton, a Macquarie analyst in London.

In other LME markets, aluminum rose $20, or 1.2 percent, to $1,642 a ton, taking its gain this year to 6.6 percent. Aluminum stockpiles in warehouses monitored by the exchange expanded 88 percent this year to a record 4.4 million tons today.

About three-quarters of LME aluminum inventories are locked into financial arrangements that make the supplies inaccessible to users, according to Greg Wittbecker, Alcoa Inc.’s director of materials management. The New York-based company is the biggest U.S. producer of the metal used in packaging and machinery.

Among other LME metals, lead rose 0.8 percent to $1,675 a ton and zinc gained 0.7 percent to $1,563 a ton. Tin slipped 1 percent to $14,950 a ton, and nickel climbed 1.1 percent to $15,010 a ton.