Copper rose in London on anticipation the U.S. stimulus package may help revive economic growth and boost demand in the world’s second-largest consumer of the metal. The U.S. Congress is set to give final approval today on the $789 billion plan. Manufacturers have used their inventories rather than buy more copper and other industrial metals as recession reduced demand for their products from cars to buildings and airplanes. “If orders start to trickle in on the back of the stimulus package, we might see an end of destocking and a move to hand-to- mouth buying,” said William Adams, an analyst at BaseMetals.com in London. “If we see a rebound in equities, that could provide a lift to sentiment.” Copper for delivery in three months gained $55, or 1.6 percent, to $3,470 a metric ton as of 12:59 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange, the first gain in four sessions. Prices are down 2 percent this week. Equities in Asia and Europe were higher today, with the FTSE 100 Index in the U.K. up 1 percent. The U.S. plan, including $100 billion on infrastructure, will “likely be less influential on commodity demand” than China’s $580 billion stimulus, Citigroup Inc. analyst Alan Heap wrote in a report today. “Current U.S. metal shipments are down 20 percent year over year.” Zinc advanced $10.75, or 0.9 percent, to $1,165.75 a ton. OZ Minerals Ltd. slowed shipments of zinc and lead concentrate from the world’s second-largest zinc mine because of heavy rain in Australia’s Queensland state. The slowdown probably won’t affect zinc or lead prices because “there’s no shortage of metal around,” Adams said. Stockpiles of zinc used to galvanize steel are up 39 percent this year and lead inventories have climbed 16 percent, according to LME figures. Lead rose $24 to $1,163 a ton. Nickel Advances Nickel gained $210 to $10,500 a ton. ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany’s largest steelmaker, said order intake at its stainless steel unit fell as much as 55 percent to 966 million euros in its first quarter. Nickel is used to make stainless steel. Aluminum increased $7, or 0.5 percent, to $1,383 a ton. LME copper stockpiles jumped 2,875 tons to 519,550 tons, the most since Oct. 30, 2003. They have climbed 53 percent this year. Aluminum inventories are at a record 2.9 million tons. Tin stockpiles rose 100 tons to 8,820 tons, the first increase in a week. The three-month contract rose $50 to $11,150 a ton.

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