Copper Futures in Shanghai Advance After LME Stockpiles Decline...

Copper Futures in Shanghai Advance After LME Stockpiles Decline

By Glenys Sim

July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices in Shanghai gained after global stockpiles tracked by the London Metal Exchange dropped to their lowest in almost a year.

Inventories tracked by the world's largest metals exchange fell for a 14th straight day on July 13 to 97,550 tons, the exchange said. That's the lowest level since July 31, 2006.

``The market is buoyed by the fall in LME warehouse stockpiles, which now stand below 100,000 tons,'' said Shen Xiaoqiang, research manager at Jian Zheng Futures Co. in Jiangsu.

Copper for September delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose as much as 650 yuan, or 1 percent, to 65,150 yuan ($8,610) a ton, and traded at 64,880 yuan at 10:42 a.m.

Still, the gain in prices may be capped after imports of the metal into China last month declined less than expected, according to customs data released in Beijing today. Refined copper and alloy imports were 121,991 metric tons in June compared with 129,949 tons in May, the customs office said in a statement, citing preliminary data.

``Shanghai will be contained by the surprisingly large import numbers in June,'' Jian Zheng's Shen said. ``It's true that China needs copper, but as it stands, China has already imported nearly the same amount as it did for the whole of last year in just six months.''

To contact the reporter for this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at [email protected]

Last Updated: July 15, 2007 22:56 EDT