BLBG: Copper Drops as Global Stockpiles Rise to Near Five-Year High
Copper declined in London after stockpiles jumped to the highest in nearly five years as a global slowdown cuts raw material demand.
London Metal Exchange-monitored inventory jumped by 5,250 metric tons yesterday to 336,700 tons, the highest since Feb. 9 2004. The stockpiles have increased 71 percent this year while copper prices are down 56 percent, heading for the first annual decline since 2001.
“The big increase in stockpiles is pressuring down copper,” Wang Lei, an analyst at Haitong Futures Co., wrote in an e-mailed report today. “Investors that want to bet on price rebounds appear to be lacking in confidence.”
Copper for three-month delivery fell as much as 1.2 percent to $2,870 a ton on the London Metal Exchange and traded at $2,903 at 10:01 a.m. in Shanghai.
March-delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.6 percent to 23,050 yuan ($3,363).
Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum was up 0.7 percent at $1,522 a ton and zinc added 1.4 percent to $1,152.
