Copper

[setravis]

Copper, other commodities sag on stronger dollar...

Copper led most commodities prices lower Wednesday as the dollar strengthened on building concerns about the Fed's plan to stimulate the economy.

The dollar gained strength Wednesday after the Wall Street Journal said the Fed may buy fewer bonds than anticipated and at a slower pace. The policymakers are expected to make a decision next month.

Many analysts and traders have been expecting the Fed to buy as much as $1 trillion in Treasurys under the "quantitative easing" plan. That has pressured the dollar in recent weeks, which has made many commodities more of a bargain for those using foreign currencies.

Copper and industrial metals also were hurt by a disappointing report on durable goods orders.

The Commerce Department says orders for durable goods rose 3.3 percent last month. Excluding transportation, orders fell 0.8 percent after having gained 1.9 percent in August.

The report also suggested manufacturing activity was moving forward but at a slower pace than earlier in the year.

Copper for December delivery fell 9.35 cents to settle at $3.7755 a pound.

Lind-Waldock market strategist Rich Ilczyszyn said he thinks the movement in copper prices is "giving us a window into potentially what's going to happen next week."

"Copper is a pretty darned good indicator of where we think the S&P may in fact go," he said. "A lot of traders will use the copper as an indicator as to how the stock are going to trade."

In other metals contracts for December, gold fell $16 to settle at $1,322.60 an ounce; silver lost 42.6 cents to $23.404 an ounce and palladium gave up $6.30 to $619.15 an ounce. January platinum dropped $25.90 to settle at $1,678.10 an ounce.

In other trading, energy prices were mixed after the government said commercial crude inventories rose 5 million barrels to 366.2 million barrels. Gasoline inventories, on the other hand, fell 4.4 million barrels.

Benchmark crude for December delivery fell 61 cents to settle at $81.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In Nymex trading in November contracts, heating oil fell 1.17 cents to settle at $2.2383 a gallon while gasoline edged up 0.8 cent to $2.1020 a gallon. Natural gas gave up 6.2 cents to settle at $3.292 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Grains all settled higher.

Wheat for December delivery rose 10.75 cents to $7.0275 a bushel. December corn added 6.25 cents to $5.7725 a bushel and January soybeans gained 5 cents to $12.36 a bushel.

[setravis]

WSJ Blogs
MarketBeat
WSJ.com's inside look at the markets

By Matt Phillips
December 22, 2010, 10:28 AM ET.Goldman Sachs: Here's the Story on Copper.

Comex copper reached a record high yesterday. Here's why, according to Goldman Sachs:

The combination of increasing copper demand coupled with lagging supply, quantitative easing measures by the United States, the expected launch of physically backed copper ETFs and continued strength in Chinese copper imports has pushed copper prices to all time highs. We expect copper fundamentals to drive prices even higher and thus are raising our 2011/ 2012 average copper price estimates to $4.25/$4.15 per pound from $3.50/$3.75 earlier.

While it seems like Goldman is calling for copper prices to go higher in the short run, it's worth noting that their 2011 target of $4.25 is already below where Copper is currently trading on the Comex: Roughly $4.28 a pound. Hmmm, are we crazy or does it seem that Goldman sees copper's gains as a  near-to-medium term phenomenon?

[hectorgr]

I´m currently LT invested in SCCO and FCX. Expect some jumps in the road ahead, but copper shortsupply might popup later in the year.        Watching China's exports to see prices moves.  
Also frequent workers strikes in some producing countries, influence this commodity.  

GLTA

[setravis]

Copper Pulls Back, But Still Flirts With Record High...

the tickerspy.com Staff, On Wednesday December 22, 2010, 11:47 am EST
After touching a record high on Tuesday, copper prices are retreating a bit today, but still remain within range of the $4.2705 per pound record, helping the Copper Stocks Index to a modest gain of 0.2% on the day.

Copper prices have been soaring recently, bolstered by expectations that Chinese demand for the red metal will remain robust in 2011 and a mine closure in Chile that was announced yesterday. Another catalyst may be news that a single trader holds 80%-90% of the copper sitting in London Mercantile Exchange warehouses, a position worth about $3 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The trader behind that position has been rumored to be J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM - News), but Reuters reported that the most recent exchange data shows that position has been reduced to 50%-80%.

Sterlite Industries (NYSE: SLT - News) is the Index's top performer today with a gain of 1%. Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX - News), the largest U.S. copper miner, is also fractionally higher after Goldman Sachs raised its price target on the stock to $132 from $111, implying 14% upside to where the shares closed yesterday. Goldman also raised its 2011 price forecast for copper to $4.25 per pound from $3.50 and its 2012 forecast to $4.15 per pound from $3.75.

Taseko Mines (AMEX: TGB - News) and Encore Wire (NASDAQ: WIRE - News) are the Index laggards today, trading near unchanged.

Investors can track the Copper Stocks Index for performance trends and a suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com.

Fun and informative, tickerspy.com is a free investing website where you can track multiple stock portfolios and compare against 250 proprietary Indexes tracking themes from dividends to ETFs to green energy to precious metals. Best of all, tickerspy.com lets you spy on the portfolios of nearly 3,000 Wall Street institutions and hedge funds and see graphs of their performance. Try tickerspy.com today and find out how you stack up against investing legends like Warren Buffett!

[setravis]

Metals Stocks
Dec. 23, 2010, 3:17 p.m. EST

Gold ends lower; copper gains 2.4% for week...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures ended with a loss Thursday, resulting in a near-flat weekly performance, but managed to recover from session lows as rallying oil prices raised the metal's allure as an inflation hedge.

Gold for February delivery /quotes/comstock/21e!f:gc\g11 (GCG11 1,380, -7.40, -0.53%)  closed down $6.90, or 0.5%, at $1,380.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The loss left gold near flat with its close on Friday of $1,379.20 an ounce.

Commodities markets in the U.S. closed early Thursday and are shut Friday in observance of the Christmas holiday.

The precious metal had fallen as low as $1,372.60 an ounce in the New York floor session, but recovered a bit as the dollar came off its U.S. session highs and other commodities rallied.

Oil pushed above $91, the first time it's broken through that level since Oct. 3, 2008. Read more on oil prices.

The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 80.48, -0.25, -0.31%)   fell to 80.511 from 80.781 in North American trade late Wednesday. It had started the U.S. trading session near the 80.80 level.

"The dollar was kind of at the top of its range and pulled back, and crude oil was very strong," said Charles Nedoss, senior market strategist at Olympus Futures in Chicago.

"If you're seeing an inflationary move in oil and food, that would be good for gold," he said.

Gold had also recovered a bit Thursday after U.S. economic reports showed jobless claims slipped and durable-goods orders fell a bigger-than-expected 1.3%.

A separate report showed consumer spending and income rose last month. Read more about consumer spending.

Copper for March delivery /quotes/comstock/21e!f1:hg\h11 (HGH11 425.65, -1.85, -0.43%)  ended the session down 2 cents, or 0.4%, at $4.26 a pound. Still, it gained 2.4% for the week, notching a record closing high of $4.276 a pound on Tuesday.

Silver /quotes/comstock/21e!f1:si\h11 (SIH11 2,930, -9.00, -0.31%)  dropped 6 cents, or 0.2%, to $29.33 an ounce, reducing its weekly gain to 0.7%.

Platinum /quotes/comstock/21n!f2:pl\f11 (PLF11 1,717, -14.20, -0.82%)  for January closed down $7.80, or 0.5%, at $1,723.10 an ounce, but gained 1.4% for the week.

Palladium /quotes/comstock/21n!f:pa\h11 (PAH11 753.80, -1.35, -0.18%)  for March delivery sidestepped the day's losses to end up $2.95, or 0.4%, at $758.10 an ounce. For the week, it's gained 2.6%.

[setravis]

The CRB Commodities Index
displays similar behavior to crude; understandable since petroleum based products make up 33% of the weighting. But recent bearish divergence on Twiggs Momentum (21-day) warns of a correction.

Rising crude and general commodity prices are evidence of mounting inflationary pressures world-wide. The Fed's easy monetary policy is destabilizing the world economy. While this may not yet have impacted on consumer prices in the US, Europe and Australia, that does not mean they are immune. Inflation tends to show up first in emerging economies as investment money flows out of developed economies, when growth slows, into high-growth markets, but later surfaces in developed economies when they begin to recover and rising commodity prices start to bite. And the longer the lag, the more persistent is inflation when it does arrive. (The Latest American Export: Inflation, Ronald McKinnon, WSJ).

[setravis]

Crude Oil & Commodities...

Brent Crude broke psychological resistance at $100/barrel as the up-trend accelerates.

Steep price rises are evident across a broad range of commodities — as with copper on the above chart. This is already causing an upsurge of inflation in emerging economies, and will flow through to developed economies as they start to recover. The bad news is: the longer the lag, the more persistent inflation will be when it does take hold.

[setravis]

Copper...

Commodities: Onward and Upward
Copper is making a new all-time high today, and it looks like the rest of the commodity complex continues to move higher. I note that gold and the dollar haven't been going anywhere over the past 3 months, so that would lead me to believe that the rise in commodity prices is due to either a) a strengthening global economy and/or b) a lagged response to the monetary stimulus that has been applied in the form of QE2. In either event, this rules out deflation as a concern, and it stokes the fires of recovery, and that ends up being bullish for risky assets in general.

[setravis]

Copper...

METALS-Copper hits record on healthier China demand view
Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:09pm EST


* Copper, tin rally to record highs * China copper imports trigger demand-driven rally * Rusal says institutions eye UK ETF listing in weeks * Coming up: China consumer price index for January
(Recasts, adds New York dateline/byline, updates with New York closing copper
price, adds analyst comments) By Chris Kelly and Rebekah Curtis NEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Copper rallied to a record high on
Monday, after a surprise jump in Chinese imports reinforced prospects for
robust global demand and raised hopes of extended restocking by the world's top
consumer. Copper, often viewed as a barometer for the global economy due to its use
in construction and power, posted its biggest daily gain in about two weeks, as
the data suggested China's growth remained intact despite recent tightening
measures. "It could very well be that the Chinese economy is running hotter than
anyone thinks," said Bart Melek, vice president and director of commodities
with TD Bank Financial Group. London Metal Exchange (LME) copper for three-month delivery CMCU3
extended gains to a record $10,170.25 per tonne in after-hours trade, having
closed up $199 at $10,160, matching the previous high. COMEX copper for March delivery HGH1 added 9.25 cents, or 2 percent, to
settle at $4.6285 per lb. The session range ran from $4.5435 to $4.6345, with
the high coming within a hair of last week's record at $4.6375. The bullishness spread to other metals, lifting tin CMSN3 to a record
high of $32,460 a tonne. It ended up $675 at $32,450, as supply constraints in
Indonesia continued to support prices. [ID:nLDE70R14Y] [ID:LDE71D0VR] Preliminary Chinese trade data showed imports of unwrought copper and
semi-finished copper products rose to 364,420 tonnes in January. The volume, which was up 5.7 percent from December and 24.7 percent from
January 2010, was the highest since September and marked the third successive
month analysts had expected imports to be under pressure from relatively low
Chinese prices. [ID:nTOE71D037] "The market's taken these numbers in a very bullish way," said Robin Bhar,
an analyst at Credit Agricole. "China's appetite is insatiable." <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For a graphic of China's copper monthly imports: link.reuters.com/hyh97r ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> Investors will focus next on Chinese inflation data due on Tuesday amid
worries that any tougher stance by Beijing to rein in inflation could affect
metals demand. [ID:nTOE706030] Talk swirled around financial markets that China's consumer prices may have
risen 4.9 percent in the year to January, well below the consensus forecast of
5.3 percent. [ID:nTOE71D01T] "If we get a strong number ... say around 5.8 to 6, and the core moves up
meaningfully above 2 percent, we are going to be worried about a significant
tightening of Chinese monetary policy, and some of these base metals could be
left wondering where do we go from here," TD Bank's Melek said. LME copper stocks increased 5,050 tonnes to a six-month high of 401,775
tonnes, continuing a recent climb that has kept optimism about demand in check.
<0#LME-STOCKS> ETFS IN FOCUS Aluminium CMAL3 ended at $2,514 a tonne from $2,496. LME warehouse stocks dipped 4,725 tonnes to 4,594,725 tonnes, although they
remain within reach of a record high of 4,640,750 tonnes hit in January 2010.
Market sources said expiring finance deals were boosting stock levels. Canceled warrants -- metal tagged for removal from warehouses -- rose by
nearly 50,000 tonnes, having climbed by double that amount in Detroit since
Thursday, pointing to a pick-up in demand from the auto sector. MAL-STOCKS "Strong auto production growth is good news for many commodities,
accounting for about 25 percent of aluminium (including secondary), 25 percent
of zinc, 15 percent of steel and 10 percent of copper usage," Macquarie said in
a note. Also grabbing investors' attention, Russia's United Company RUSAL Ltd
(0486.HK)(RUAL.PA), the world's largest aluminium producer, said an aluminium
exchange-traded fund (ETF) could be launched soon in Britain. [ID:nHKU000446] "The question is, will the ETF launch mop up that excess?" Bhar said of LME
stocks. Rusal said it saw steady output growth in 2011, driven by strong demand
from China and a rebound in North America. [ID:nTOE71D00O]
Metal Prices at 1913 GMT
COMEX copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T
Metal            Last      Change  Pct Move   End 2010   Ytd Pct                                                         move
COMEX Cu       462.95        9.35     +2.06     444.70      4.10
LME Alum      2514.00       18.00     +0.72    2470.00      1.78
LME Cu       10155.00      194.00     +1.95    9600.00      5.78
LME Lead      2639.00       79.00     +3.09    2550.00      3.49
LME Nickel   28895.00      570.00     +2.01   24750.00     16.75
LME Tin      32450.00      675.00     +2.12   26900.00     20.63
LME Zinc      2520.00       55.00     +2.23    2454.00      2.69
SHFE Alu     17125.00       35.00     +0.20   16840.00      1.69
SHFE Cu*     75580.00      660.00     +0.88   71850.00      5.19
SHFE Zin     19470.00      330.00     +1.72   19475.00     -0.03
** Benchmark month for COMEX copper
* 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN
SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07
(Additional reporting by Melanie Burton in London; editing by Dale Hudson)

[setravis]

Copper...
dips on inflation worries February 24, 2011

Copper prices fell to their lowest in nearly a month on Wednesday as escalating unrest in Libya and surging oil prices threatened to derail global economic recovery, weighing on prospects for industrial metals.

"Concerns have been building with regards to the geopolitical situation in North Africa and the Middle East, which could have an impact on global economic growth," said analyst Gayle Berry of Barclays Capital.

"This is really shaking the market," Berry said.

Advertisement: Story continues below Three months copper on the London Metal Exchange ended at $US9425 a tonne, down 1.6 per cent from its Tuesday close.

Earlier, prices had plumbed their lowest since late January at $US9375.

The metal used in power and construction has slipped by about eight per cent from record highs at $US10,190 hit mid-month.

COMEX copper for March delivery ended down 7.15 US cents at $US4.2755 per pound, extending consolidative pullback from its record of $US4.6495 set on February 15.

Turnover was about 50 per cent higher than the 30-day average, consistent with recent larger-than-usual volume, prompting investors to worry that copper's decline could accellerate.

Thousands of Libyans celebrated the liberation of the eastern city of Benghazi from the rule of Muammar Gaddafi on Wednesday, who was reported to have sent a plane to bomb them as he clung to power.

US crude oil futures CLc1 marched rapidly to hit $US100 a barrel on possible supply disruption from Libya, stoking inflationary worries.

Investors feared that surging energy prices may boost inflation growth and force the government in top metals consumer China, and elsewhere, to raise interest rates.

Wall Street fell sharply for a second day as investors sold riskier commodities and sought safety in bonds, gold and the Swiss franc due to worries that turmoil will spread to other countries in North Africa and the Middle East.

Markets were concerned that this could slow down the economy and weaken demand for base metals.

"This is not a metal-specific or fundamental-specific (downwards) move. I do feel that this is very much sentiment-driven," Berry said.

She added that fundamentals, especially for copper, remained positive but that metals prices will continue to suffer until the political tensions come to an end.

A further rise in crude oil prices will dampen copper prices, though demand from key buyers in China, the United States and Europe so far looks solid, a senior executive at the world's top copper producer Codelco said.

Nickel finished slightly up at $US28,700, from $US28,650, despite inventories that have declined since mid-January as seasonal demand from the stainless sector picks up.

It hit its highest level since late April 2008 on Monday at $US29,425 a tonne.

Brazilian miner Vale said on Friday it would lose around five per cent of its total 2011 nickel production due to a 16-week shutdown of a smelter furnace.

The closure at its Copper Cliff smelter in Sudbury, Canada, stands to significantly weigh on supply and may push the market into deficit, Standard Bank said.

"The unexpected smelter closure ... now stands to put a significant dent in what had looked like being a balanced market, with major implications for outright prices and stock trends," Standard Bank said.

The bank said it now estimates the loss of production at 15,000 tonnes.

Elsewhere, news that the West Australian government has lifted an order blocking lead shipments to the port of Fremantle undermined support for the metal.

Battery material lead ended at $US2539 from a close of $US2565 a tonne.

Aluminium closed at $US2530 from $US2528 while tin, untraded in rings, was bid at $US31,500 from $US31,600.

Zinc, used in galvanising, closed at $US2495 from $US2490 Tuesday's close.

A key global miner and smelting firms agreed to 2011 benchmark zinc treatment charges of $US229 per tonne based on a $US2500 per tonne London Metal Exchange zinc price, according to sources attending the International Zinc Association conference.

Reuters

[setravis]

METALS-Copper ends off as econ worries trump supply woes...

Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:41pm EDT


* Copper ends down as macro-economic jitters bite * Escondida strike pressures already tight copper market * Aluminium, tin hit multi-week highs * Coming up: US jobless claims, pending home sales Thurs. (Rewrites, adds New York dateline/byline, updates with New York closing
copper price, adds analyst comments) By Chris Kelly and Silvia Antonioli NEW YORK/LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Copper closed down on Wednesday as
a firmer dollar and macro-economic concerns continued to cloud near-term
demand prospects and limit the bullish impact of a prolonged strike at the
world's largest copper mine. It was another day of divergence in the base metals complex, with
aluminium CMAL3 extending a recent rally to its highest since early June
and tin CMSN3 reaching its priciest level since mid-May at $29,000 a
tonne. With deadlocked debt talks in the United States, lingering debt
troubles in the euro zone, and another round of poor U.S. economic data,
copper's supportive supply-side fundamentals seemed to move to the
back-burner, with investors more focused on demand implications from any
potential slowdown in the global economy. "Demand seems to be the most important side of the equation for all
capital markets right now due to the fact that you have several concurrent
themes that could drastically cut demand," said Adam Sarhan, chief
executive of Sarhan Capital. "If the debt situation is resolved swiftly and there is no demand
destruction in the ramifications of the debt situation, then the focus is
going to shift back to the supply side of the equation, and the strike will
re-emerge as a leading force to drive copper prices." London Metal Exchange (LME) benchmark copper CMCU3 fell $40 to end at
$9,780 a tonne. In New York, the key September COMEX contract HGU1 shed 3.15 cents to
settle at $4.4465 per lb. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies .DXY, making
dollar-priced commodities costlier for holders of other currencies. [USD/] Demand prospects dimmed after data showed new orders for long-lasting
U.S. manufactured goods fell in June and a gauge of business spending plans
slipped. [ID:nN1E76Q09V] "Poor economic data this morning has the markets certainly moving to
the sidelines," said David Bouckhout, senior commodity strategist with TD
Bank Financial Group. As a result, trading volumes thinned out to a little more than 30,300
lots traded late in New York, down more than a third from the 30-day norm,
according to Thomson Reuters preliminary data. But as a six-day strike at Chile's huge Escondida mine showed no sign
of ebbing, copper's downside risks looked limited, even as talks between
President Sebastian Pinera and unionists at state giant Codelco appeared to
ease the threat of contagion. [ID:nN1E76Q0UG] "Analyst forecasts always build in at the beginning of each year supply
losses, and I think we are already at or close to exceeding those
forecasts," said Evan Smith, co-manager of the U.S. Global Investors Global
Resources Fund (PSPFX) -- a natural resources fund with about $900 million
in assets under management. "If we start to see restocking in China or more labor disruptions or
weather disruptions to supply, the copper price will probably continue to
move sideways to higher." In a Reuters poll, analysts forecast the copper market will be in a
343,150 tonnes deficit in 2011. COMMODITYPOLL16 Some think supply
tightness may push copper prices up to record levels again. "Although it may take a few attempts to break the $10,000 mark, we
expect copper prices to move above that level later in the year," Credit
Suisse said in a note. END OF DESTOCKING Inventories of copper in LME-registered warehouses rose by 700 tonnes
to 469,800 tonnes, over a third higher than in December last year.
MCU-STOCKS (Graphic: r.reuters.com/hub62s ) High stocks of copper in the last few months raised concerns over
reduced demand in top consumer China, where consumers were seen tapping
into their domestic stocks rather than importing more material, analysts
said. But the destocking phase may be close to an end. "Data for the first half as a whole strongly suggests destocking in a
number of the commodities, although the most recent monthly data points
suggest this destocking may be coming to an end," Macquarie said in a
note. "For both copper and aluminium...destocking was at its strongest over
the first four months of the year, with the May and June data implying that
the market has been either better balanced (aluminium) or that producers
have started tentatively rebuilding inventory (copper)."
Metal Prices at 1821 GMT
COMEX copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T
Metal            Last      Change  Pct Move   End 2010   Ytd Pct                                                         move
COMEX Cu       444.40       -3.40     -0.76     444.70     -0.07
LME Alum      2644.00       -8.00     -0.30    2470.00      7.04
LME Cu        9779.00      -41.00     -0.42    9600.00      1.86
LME Lead      2690.00       15.00     +0.56    2550.00      5.49
LME Nickel   24395.00      295.00     +1.22   24750.00     -1.43
LME Tin      28745.00      145.00     +0.51   26900.00      6.86
LME Zinc      2522.00      -10.00     -0.39    2454.00      2.77
SHFE Alu     18310.00      295.00     +1.64   16840.00      8.73
SHFE Cu*     72810.00        0.00     +0.00   71850.00      1.34
SHFE Zin     19085.00      185.00     +0.98   19475.00     -2.00
** Benchmark month for COMEX copper
* 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN
SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07
(Editing by Keiron Henderson)

[setravis]

METALS-Copper ends lower as euro zone concerns persist

Tue Aug 16, 2011 2:32pm EDT


* Copper sustains losses late after Franco-German talks * Weak German Q2 GDP fans global recovery fears * U.S. Housing starts fall less than expected in July * Coming up: U.S. July producer price data on Wednesday
(Rewrites, adds New York dateline/byline, updates prices, adds details and
analyst comments) By Chris Kelly and Harpreet Bhal NEW YORK/LONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Copper ended down after touching its
lowest level in a week on Tuesday, as risk appetite subsided after surprisingly
weak German growth data fanned worries about a faltering global economic
recovery. Losses were sustained in after-hours business after a meeting between
French and German leaders failed to quell concerns about the euro zone debt
crisis. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
proposed a tax on financial transactions and closer joint governance of
economic policy to stop the debt crisis in Europe, but did not propose
increasing the euro zone bailout fund or selling euro zone bonds.
[ID:nL5E7JG0IH] "The market was obviously fixated on whether they would perhaps improbably
agree to support the notion of euro bond issuance, where Germany and France
would agree to underwrite and guarantee some of the debt issuance for some of
the other members," said Peter Buchanan, commodities analyst and senior
economist with CIBC in Toronto, Canada. "Unless you get that, the general conclusion is that the crisis over there
is not very much closer to a solution than it was a couple of weeks ago." London Metal Exchange (LME) benchmark copper CMCU3 sank to an earlier
session- and one-week low at $8,751 per tonne before ending with a loss of $79
at $8,830. After the close, prices inched back down in the aftermath of the
Sarkozy-Merkel comments. In New York, the September COMEX contract HGU1 fell by 3.80 cents or 0.94
percent to settle at $3.9940 per lb. Investors reduced risk after data showed the German economy slowed between
April and June to its weakest quarterly growth rate since 2009.
[ID:nL5E7JG0N0] Better-than-forecast U.S. July industrial output data and a
smaller-than-expected decline in home building last month failed to calm the
global economic jitters. [ID:nN1E77F0B6] "The housing numbers and the permit numbers suggest that this soft patch
may be a bit more insidious than just a patch," said Bart Melek, head of
commodity strategy with TD Bank Financial Group. "The softness in Q2 may extend well into Q3." Fitch Ratings affirmed the United States' top-notch credit rating at AAA,
giving the world's largest economy a reprieve after it was downgraded by
Standard & Poor's little more than a week ago. [ID:nLDE77F0T2] But with three-month LME copper still trading at a discount to the November
copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, there remains an incentive
for the Chinese to import, but price-sensitive buyers will likely wait for
costs to stabilize. "The appetite hasn't been there. The Chinese are quite price sensitive.
They bought aggressively on the dip late last week and they have stepped away
again so that support isn't there anymore," said analyst Leon Westgate at
Standard Bank. The arbitrage -- open since early this month -- may boost China's refined
copper imports in the fourth quarter as buyers increase spot bookings.
[ID:nL3E7JF1ER]
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ GRAPHICS Global metal stocks: link.reuters.com/deg67n LME stocks vs prices: r.reuters.com/hub62s Reuters metal production data base: here
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> Gains in copper on Monday lifted the metal to within a whisker of $9,000,
seen as a resistance level, and hit a session high at $8,980, well shy of the
record $10,190 hit in February. "Prices don't look yet in position to challenge the most immediate
resistance just above $9,000. Most likely reason is the lack of substance to
justify yet a rally of significance," Triland said in a note. Reflecting subdued demand, LME copper inventories rose 4,675 tonnes to
465,275 tonnes, with the majority of the metal inflow occurring at LME
warehouses in Rotterdam.
Metal Prices at 1800 GMT
COMEX copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T
Metal            Last      Change  Pct Move   End 2010   Ytd Pct                                                         move
COMEX Cu       399.00       -4.20     -1.04     444.70    -10.28
LME Alum      2375.00        0.00     +0.00    2470.00     -3.85
LME Cu        8830.00      -79.00     -0.89    9600.00     -8.02
LME Lead      2356.00      -41.00     -1.71    2550.00     -7.61
LME Nickel   21695.00      395.00     +1.85   24750.00    -12.34
LME Tin      24150.00     -250.00     -1.02   26900.00    -10.22
LME Zinc      2182.00       -1.00     -0.05    2454.00    -11.08
SHFE Alu     17150.00     -180.00     -1.04   16840.00      1.84
SHFE Cu*     66490.00     -790.00     -1.17   71850.00     -7.46
SHFE Zin     16600.00     -575.00     -3.35   19475.00    -14.76
** Benchmark month for COMEX copper
* 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN
SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07
(Additional reporting by Silvia Antonioli; editing by Keiron Henderson and
Sofina Mirza-Reid)