By Anna Stablum April 26 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose to a one-week high in London as investor sentiment improved after Greece moved toward securing a financial rescue package, abating concerns of an economic slowdown in the euro region. Greece’s Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said money will be available “rather soon” and his country wouldn’t restructure its debt. He was speaking to reporters in Washington yesterday as he negotiated a three-year loan plan with the International Monetary Fund and European governments. “It looks like there is some resolution on Greece,” Deutsche Bank AG analyst Daniel Brebner in London said by phone. “It resolves some of the near-time concerns.” Copper for delivery in three months rose $60, or 0.8 percent, to $7,810 a metric ton at 9:30 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. It reached $7,865 a ton earlier, the highest intraday price since April 16. Futures for July delivery gained 0.7 percent to $3.555 a pound on the Comex in New York. Prices rose for a second day on speculation a recovering global economy, led by top consumer China, will boost consumption of metals. China will keep its “relatively easy” monetary policy, Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in a statement at an IMF meeting, even as the country tightened real- estate financing by requiring developers to submit fund-raising plans for review. The measures by the Chinese government have unnerved investors, though they may lead “to stronger, and not weaker, construction activity in the short run,” according to a report by Macquarie Bank analysts led by Max Layton in London. China Growth China will continue with “stable and relatively rapid” growth this year, while balancing “inflation expectations,” Zhou said. The central government projects gross domestic product growth of about 8 percent and an inflation rate of 3 percent this year, according to his statement. Construction uses a quarter of all the copper produced, according to the Copper Development Association. In industrial metals “a strong recovery in non-Chinese demand, combined with steady (albeit weaker) Chinese demand growth, will keep markets tight and upside price risks remain intense,” Layton said in the Macquarie report. Nickel Rises A Conference Board report tomorrow may show its measure of U.S. consumer confidence rose this month to 53.5 from 52.5, according to a Bloomberg survey median. Copper stockpiles tracked by the LME fell 0.2 percent to 506,125 tons. Bookings to remove metal from inventories jumped 38 percent to 30,675 tons, more than double from a week ago. Nickel for three-month delivery on the LME rose 0.9 percent to $27,290 a ton. Prices have gained 47 percent this year, the most among the six main metals traded on the exchange. In the short-run the market was expected to get tighter as demand from the stainless steel sector, consuming about two- thirds of all nickel produced, is expected to grow by 19.6 percent this year to 30.9 million tons in 2010, according to the Macquarie report. “A price target of close to $30,000 a ton appears likely,” Macquarie’s Layton said. The market is forecast to post a deficit of 85,000 tons this year, and 17,000 tons next year, according to the report. ‘Short-Term Imbalance’ Lead rose 0.8 percent to $2,318 a ton. Stockpiles monitored by the LME have risen by 23 percent this year to 179,575 tons. “We think the lead price will pull back in the coming months to correct the short-term imbalance in the market,” Macquarie’s Layton said. “Nonetheless, this short-term view should not distract attention from our fundamentally bullish medium to long-term outlook on the lead market,” according to the Macquarie report. Aluminum fell 0.02 percent to $2,333.50 a ton. Stockpiles in LME warehouses dropped 0.2 percent to 4.56 million tons. Bookings to remove metal from inventories fell for a fifth day in six, down 3.7 percent to 271,000 tons. Tin gained 0.5 percent to $19,100 a ton and zinc rose 1.1 percent to $2,431.50 a ton. --Editors: John Deane, M. Shankar. To contact the reporter on the story: Anna Stablum in London at astablum@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at swallace6@bloomberg.net.

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