BLBG: Copper Prices Drop as Inventories Rise to Highest Since 2004
By Millie Munshi
Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices fell for the second straight day as an increase in inventories signaled less demand for the metal used in pipes and wires.
Stockpiles monitored by the London Metal Exchange jumped 2.1 percent today to 252,550 metric tons, the highest since March 10, 2004. Supplies have more than doubled in the second half of this year. Copper futures tumbled 7.1 percent yesterday on concern that consumption is waning.
``The incessant build in stocks is adding to downside pressure,'' analysts at Barclays Capital in London said in a report.
Copper futures for December delivery fell 3.8 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $1.781 a pound at 9:27 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Before today, the metal was down 53 percent since June 30.
On the LME, copper for delivery in three months dropped $140, or 3.4 percent, to $3,930 a metric ton ($1.79 a pound).
To contact the reporter on this story: Millie Munshi in New York at mmunshi@bloomberg.net.
