BLBG:Copper Trades Near One-Week Low as Global Stockpiles Gain
Copper traded near the lowest level in more than a week as inventories at the London Metal Exchange warehouses climbed to a nine-month high. Aluminum, zinc, lead and nickel also declined.
Metal for delivery in three months was little changed at $8,025.25 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange at 10:26 a.m. Shanghai time. It fell to $8,006.25 on Dec. 17, the lowest since Dec. 7. Copper for March delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.5 percent to 57,600 yuan ($9,246) a ton.
LME inventories climbed to 300,500 tons as of yesterday, the highest since Feb. 24, bourse data showed. Those tallied by the SHFE gained to 205,385 tons as of last week, near a seven- month high of 205,933 tons for the week ended Nov. 23, according to the exchange data.
“Although people expect demand to improve next year along with a recovery of China’s macro economy, the existing inventories are an overhang on the market,” said Lu Minsu, an analyst at New Century Futures Co.
The metal for immediate delivery on Shanghai’s Changjiang market was quoted at a discount of 160 yuan a ton to the SHFE front-month futures contract yesterday.
The March contract on the Comex in New York was little changed at $3.656 a pound.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Helen Sun in Shanghai at hsun30@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net
