Copper rose from a two-week low in London on speculation China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal, is stepping up purchases. Aluminum dropped to the lowest price in six years. Copper inventories in London Metal Exchange-monitored warehouses declined 1,125 metric tons, the most since Oct. 21. A tripling of stockpiles contributed to copper’s 60 percent slide in the past year. Today’s drop took place as metal was taken from South Korean and Singapore warehouses that are closest to China. “It’s going to China,” said Lars Steffensen, managing director of Southend-on-Sea, England-based Ebullio Capital Management LLP, which has 3.6 percent of its $25 million invested in copper futures. “This drop today is probably a good indication that we’re getting to a flattening of the relentless trend of more stock coming in.” Copper for three-month delivery rose $34.50, or 1.1 percent, to $3,219.50 a metric ton at 10:28 a.m. local time on the LME. It erased a drop as far as $3,165 a ton, the lowest since Feb. 2. Open interest in the metal on the LME has increased 1.5 percent this year, signaling investor demand for copper, used in plumbing and electrical wiring, as prices have risen 4.5 percent. “We’re betting that supply isn’t going to be able to keep up with the growth that we envision in consumption,” Steffensen said, adding that Ebullio has been buying copper since December. While prices may fall a further $1,000, there’s scope for a gain of $6,000, he said. Aluminum dropped $14, or 1.1 percent, to $1,316 a ton, the lowest since Oct. 14, 2002. U.S. and Canadian demand for the metal fell 16 percent from a year earlier in December and slid 8.1 percent for all of 2008, the Aluminum Association Inc. said. Zinc fell $5 to $1,105 a ton, and tin declined $50 to $10,750 a ton. Nickel dropped $149 to $9,751 a ton, while lead lost $22 to $1,087 a ton.

Source