copper stockpiles dropping fast Combined LME and NYFM have...

copper stockpiles dropping fast Combined LME and NYFM have combined stockpiles of 69,278 tonnes, this is the lowest they've been in a long time.

Copper Heads for Year's Biggest Weekly Gain as Economy Grows
May 26 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices rose in New York, heading for their biggest weekly gain of the year, on signs of sustained economic growth in the U.S., the world's second-biggest consumer of the metal.

Copper, which is used in homes, cars, appliances and phone cables, has climbed 9 percent from a four-month low on May 16, largely because of economic growth in the U.S. and China, the biggest user of the metal. The Commerce Department said today the U.S. expanded at a 3.5 percent annual pace in the first quarter, up from last month's estimate of 3.1 percent.

``I haven't felt this bullish in three weeks,'' said Sandy Baker, a partner and senior copper trader at Millennium Futures in New York.

Copper futures for July delivery rose 3 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $1.4495 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price since May 10. Prices are up 5.4 percent this week, heading for the biggest weekly gain since Dec. 17.

The 18 percent gain in copper in the past year is part of a surge in commodity prices that reached a 24-year high in March, led by gains in everything from coffee to sugar to crude oil. The Reuters-CRB index of 17 commodities rose 0.94 to 300.18 at 1:56 p.m. in New York, heading for its first weekly gain in a month. The index is up 7.1 percent this year, and reached a high of 323.33 on March 16.

U.S. economic growth at 3.5 percent is ``very positive for copper usage'' in everything from new homes to machinery, said Jim Steel, director of commodity research at Refco LLC in New York.

Also another compnay enters the Congo :

Junior-miner raises DRC copper funding
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Junior-miner Metorex this week announced that it has raised $40-million for a mining investment in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The mine was acting on advise from legal firm Bowman Gilfillan.

These funds are to be used for a significant new mining investment at Ruashi, near Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The project is in two phases, the first of which is the exploitation of existing surface ore bodies at Ruashi.

The second phase is the development of a substantial new copper mine at the same site.

The material will be transported to a Metorex subsidiary in Zambia, Kabwe Zinc, which will be responsible for processing and smelting the mine material.