BLBG:Copper Advances for Third Day as Manufacturing Expands in China
Copper climbed for a third day as China’s manufacturing expanded for the first time in three months in October, boosting demand in the world’s top consumer.
Metal for delivery in three months gained as much as 0.8 percent to $7,824 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange and was at $7,805.50 at 4:08 p.m. in Tokyo. The contract fell 5.4 percent last month, the most since May.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.2 in October from 49.8 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today, adding to signs growth in the world’s second-biggest economy is rebounding after a seven-quarter slowdown. That matched the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 30 economists. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
“Market sentiment was boosted by China’s PMI data which signaled that demand remains steady,” said Chae Un Soo, a metals trader at Korea Exchange Bank Futures Co. in Seoul.
The report bolsters hopes for a pickup in expansion this quarter after industrial production, exports and retail sales accelerated in September. The data may also reduce pressure on outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao to roll out more stimulus measures during a once-a-decade power handover that begins with a Communist Party congress next week.
Separately, the HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 49.5 last month from 47.9 in September, according to HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics Markit.
December futures rose 0.8 percent to $3.5455 a pound on the Comex in New York. February futures climbed 0.4 percent to close at 57,110 yuan ($9,153) a ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.
LME aluminum, nickel, tin, zinc and lead also advanced.
To contact the reporter for this story: Jae Hur in Tokyo at jhur1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net
