BLBG:Copper Rises Most in Three Weeks on China Manufacturing Growth
Copper rose the most in three weeks in London after reports showed manufacturing strengthened last month in China, the world’s biggest consumer of the metal.
An official manufacturing gauge reached a 16-month high of 51 and a separate measure from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics jumped the most in three years to 50.1. Readings above 50 indicate expansion. Prices also climbed after Bank of America Merrill Lynch said inventories of copper held in bonded warehouses in China plunged.
“The Chinese data further supports our macro signals, which continue to point toward improved growth,” George Adcock, an analyst at Marex Spectron Group in London, said by e-mail. “We expect growth-related assets to continue to perform well.”
Copper for delivery in three months gained 1.8 percent to $7,228 a metric ton by 9:43 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Prices rose as much as 2.5 percent, the most since Aug. 8. Copper for delivery in December added 1.8 percent to $3.29 a pound on the Comex in New York, where floor trading is closed today for the Labor Day holiday.
Holdings of copper in bonded warehouses, which aren’t officially reported, slid to 350,000 tons from 1.1 million tons about a year ago, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said.
Copper stockpiles monitored by the LME rose for a third session to 589,750 tons, daily exchange figures showed. Orders to remove the metal from warehouses were little changed at 284,200 tons.
Money managers reduced their net-long position, or wagers on higher copper prices, by 9.1 percent to 13,043 Comex futures and options in the week ended Aug. 27. They stayed bullish for a third week after five straight months of bearish bets.
Expanding Chinese manufacturing may reinforce an outlook that the economy is responding to Premier Li Keqiang’s policies to support growth. JPMorgan Chase & Co. yesterday raised estimates for Chinese economic growth this quarter and next, citing continued strength in infrastructure and real-estate as well as a pickup in exports.
Aluminum, zinc, nickel and lead gained in London. Tin fell.
To contact the reporter on this story: Agnieszka Troszkiewicz in London at atroszkiewic@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
