BS: Copper Advances as Reports Signal U.S. Rebound Is On Course
By Anna Stablum
June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose in New York and London as reports signaled that the economic rebound remains on course in the U.S., the world’s second-biggest consumer of the metal.
Orders for so-called durable goods rose 0.9 percent in May excluding transportation, the third climb in four months, Commerce Department data showed. The number of Americans seeking jobless benefits fell last week, according to Labor Department figures.
“The data shows manufacturing growth continues in the U.S., and it should support prices,” Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said by phone today.
Futures for September delivery gained 3.55 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $2.99 a pound at 8:51 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Copper for delivery in three months climbed 1.4 percent to $6,604 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.
Prices slid yesterday after reports signaled further weakness in the U.S. housing market, stoking speculation that the country’s economic rebound may be weaker than expected. Concern about Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis also has contributed to LME copper’s 11 percent decline this year.
“The macroeconomic picture is not as strong as it was in 2009, and the recovery has had some setbacks -- for example, Europe -- but I’m still mildly bullish,” David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in London, said by phone.
Total durable-goods orders dropped for the first time in six months as demand for planes retreated. Initial jobless claims fell by 19,000 to 457,000 in the week ended June 19.
Aluminum for three-month delivery on the LME rose 0.4 percent to $1,948 a ton and nickel gained 0.9 percent to $19,450 a ton. Zinc climbed 1.8 percent to $1,862 a ton, lead added 0.2 percent to $1,819 a ton and tin rose 0.9 percent to $17,980 a ton.
--With assistance from Timothy R. Homan and Bob Willis in Washington. Editors: Dan Weeks, John Deane.
To contact the reporter on the story: Anna Stablum in London at astablum@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.
