By Bloomberg News Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Copper from New York to Shanghai climbed to the highest price in four months as shares rallied and on signs Japan and the U.S. will take steps to sustain economic growth, boosting demand for commodities. Metal for December delivery jumped as much as 2.2 percent to $3.46 a pound, the highest level since April 27, and traded at $3.4220 at 10:59 a.m. in Singapore. Copper in Shanghai gained as much as 2.7 percent to 59,390 yuan ($8,733) per metric ton and traded at 59,260 yuan. Shares in Asia advanced the most in five weeks on speculation the Bank of Japan will announce measures to weaken the currency and boost the economy, and after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank has the tools to prevent the country from slipping back into a recession. The preconditions for a pickup in growth in 2011 “appear to remain in place,” he said. “Bernanke’s speech helped alleviate investor concerns, after a reduced estimate of second-quarter growth,” Zeng Chao, an analyst with Everbright Futures, said in an e-mailed report. U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 1.6 percent annual rate from April through June, the Commerce Department said, lower than the 2.4 percent initially reported and higher than the median estimate of 1.4 percent in a Bloomberg survey. The Federal Open Market Committee “is prepared to provide additional monetary accommodation through unconventional measures if it proves necessary, especially if the outlook were to deteriorate significantly,” Bernanke said. Japan Meeting In Japan, Prime Minister Naoto Kan will meet with Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa this afternoon and decide on the outline of his government’s stimulus plan. The central bank is holding an emergency policy meeting this morning as the yen’s advance to a 15-year high threatened the economy’s recovery. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares climbed 1.5 percent to 118.58. Aluminum for December delivery gained as much as 1.4 percent to 15,645 yuan per ton and traded at 15,600 yuan, while zinc increased as much as 3.1 percent to 17,705 yuan and traded at 17,650 yuan. The London Metal Exchange is closed for a holiday. “Bernanke’s speech may serve to boost market sentiment for three to five days at most,” Zhu Haitao, an analyst at Zhongcai Futures, said by phone from Beijing. “The economic conditions, as well as supply and demand, don’t support an upward trend.” Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators decreased their net-long position by 5,065 contracts, or 35 percent, in New York copper futures in the week ended Aug. 24, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Speculative long positions, or bets prices will increase, outnumbered short positions by 9,414 contracts on Comex. --Helen Sun. Editor: James Poole To contact the reporter on this story: Helen Sun in Shanghai at hsun30@bloomberg.net

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