Copper in London climbed for a third day toward a 28-month high after U.S. employment data signaled that the recovery is intact and the Federal Reserve eased monetary policy, boosting demand for commodities. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 0.9 percent to $8,735 a metric ton, and was at $8,681.75 a ton at 3:44 p.m. in Singapore. Copper advanced to $8,769.50 a ton on Nov. 5, the highest price since July 2008, when the metal reached a record $8,940. December-delivery copper on the Comex in New York gained as much as 0.8 percent to $3.9815 a pound. “Copper in London and New York are still going up because of investment demand from all the liquidity that’s out there, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s move last week,” Gao Jingsong, an analyst at Hoohy Futures Co., said from Guangdong. The U.S. central bank said Nov. 3 it will expand stimulus by buying $600 billion of Treasuries to sustain growth in the world’s largest economy. Employment in the U.S. rose in October by 151,000 jobs, the first gain in five months and a climb that beat all estimates for the Nov. 5 release in a Bloomberg survey. Copper fell for the first day in four in Shanghai as high prices deterred purchases in China, the world’s largest consumer. February-delivery contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 1.9 percent to 66,090 yuan ($9,909) a ton, and ended the day 1.2 percent lower at 66,590 yuan. “Shanghai is unwillingly trying to keep up,” said Gao. “Demand destruction is taking place in China, seen from rising stockpiles and a widening contango,” said Gao, referring to a situation in which future prices are higher than current costs. Dollar Strength Earlier, copper in London fell as much as 0.2 percent as the dollar advanced for a second day against a six-currency basket. The euro also dropped for a second day against the dollar before an inspection of Ireland’s budget plan and the final results of Greece’s local elections. “The performance of the dollar will remain the main driving force for prices which are now far removed from their fundamentals,” Ye Chunyan, an analyst at Jinchang Futures Co., said from Shanghai. “We’ll continue to see slower gains in Shanghai compared to London and New York as physical demand in China starts to deteriorate.” Spot copper in Changjiang, Shanghai’s biggest cash market, traded at a 1,865-yuan-a-ton discount to futures on Nov. 5, the most since April. Copper stockpiles monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange stood at 106,851 tons last week, the highest level in two months. State Sales China sold almost all of the 96,000 tons of aluminum ingots that it offered from the state reserve through public auctions on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, according to a statement on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission today. A total of 95,767 tons was sold at an average price of 15,343 yuan ($2,302) a ton, said the State Bureau of Material Reserve, also known as the State Reserve Bureau, which comes under the commission. The government will also sell 50,000 tons of zinc ingots from state reserves at an auction tomorrow, the commission said on Nov. 3. In Chile, workers at the Collahuasi copper mine, the world’s fourth-largest, remained on strike for a third day yesterday after wage talks failed. The mine, owned by Anglo American Plc and Xstrata Plc, is operating “normally,” a spokeswoman said yesterday. The dispute may reduce production, which accounts for 3.3 percent of global output, if it lasts more than a week, according to Morgan Stanley. Aluminum in London fell 0.3 percent to $2,445 a ton, zinc dropped 0.3 percent to $2,519.50 a ton, and nickel declined 0.4 percent to $24,350 a ton. Tin decreased 0.2 percent to $26,400 a ton, while lead climbed 0.4 percent to $2,515 a ton. To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at Gsim4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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