Copper advanced for the first time in seven days in London on speculation that demand from China, the biggest user, will improve as the yuan strengthened against the dollar to the highest since 1993. Three-month delivery copper soared as much as 3.4 percent to $8,884.75 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, the most since May 18. The metal traded at $8,823.25 at 3:31 p.m. Shanghai time. Zinc advanced as much as 4.3 percent to $2,190 a ton, while nickel gained as much as 4 percent to $21,799 a ton. Metals climbed as the Chinese currency rose beyond 6.4 per dollar, supported by the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates at a record low and signs Beijing will use currency gains to help curb inflation. China’s July copper imports were the highest since January as traders bought the metal ahead of an expected seasonal rise in demand. “We see Chinese buying supporting London prices during Asian hours from time to time recently,” Xu Liping, an analyst at HNA Topwin Futures Co., said by phone from Shanghai. “In today’s case, a strong opening in Shanghai boosted London prices. A price below $9,000 is attractive to buyers here.” The yuan strengthened the most since November and 12-month non-deliverable forwards climbed to a three-month high after the central bank’s daily fixing had its biggest jump of 2011. China’s consumer prices climbed 6.5 percent last month from a year earlier, the fastest in three years, official data show. ‘Good for Commodities’ A stronger yuan “is definitely good for commodities as that allows China to import more, and it’s a sign that the government is confident enough about the strength of domestic demand and cares less about exports,” said David Thurtell, head of metals research at Citigroup Inc. in Singapore. Imports of the refined metal, copper alloy and semi- finished products, gained for a second month in July, rising 9.5 percent to 306,626 tons from 280,009 tons in June, the General Administration of Customs said yesterday. Demand for the metal used in cables and wires is usually subdued in the summer, when power supply disruptions can curb production. Fabricators usually ramp up production from September as electricity supplies improve. China may adopt “targeted easing” in the second half to support financing for agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises and social housing, the China Securities Journal reported today, without saying where it got the information. Potential Stimulus “The market expects some sort of stimulus policies from China if the condition worsens,” Xu said. The dollar fell against a majority of its major peers today, with the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, dropping as much as 0.7 percent to 74.36. Minera Escondida Ltda., the operator of the world’s largest copper mine in Chile, said in a regulatory filing that a 15-day workers strike “had no relevant impact” on output. Copper for October delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed 0.6 percent down at 66,710 yuan ($10,437) a ton. Aluminum in London gained 1.2 percent to $2,425 a ton and lead advanced 2.6 percent to $2,335 a ton. Tin climbed 2.6 percent to $23,330. --Helen Sun. Editors: Thomas Kutty Abraham, Jarrett Banks To contact the Bloomberg News staff on this story: Helen Sun in Shanghai at hsun30@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Richard Dobson at rdobson4@bloomberg.net

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