BLBG: Copper May Fall on Slump in U.S. Housing Demand, Survey Shows
By Claudia Carpenter
Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Copper may drop next week as demand from the housing industry slumps in the U.S., the second-biggest buyer of the metal used in wires and pipes.
Ten of 20 analysts, investors and traders, or 50 percent, surveyed by Bloomberg News said copper would decline. Nine people, or 45 percent, expected a gain and one was neutral. Last week, 55 percent expected prices to decline.
Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange has dropped 8.7 percent so far this week.
New-home sales in the U.S. probably dropped last month to an annual pace of 418,000 units, according to the median forecast of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg as of yesterday. Purchases in October were 433,000, the fewest since January 1991. A typical home contains 400 pounds of copper, according to the Copper Development Association.
The Commerce Department report is due Dec. 23.
The LME will end trading at 2 p.m. Dec. 24 and stay closed for the next two days for the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays.
This week’s survey results: Bullish: 9 Bearish: 10 Neutral: 1
To contact the reporter on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
