Copper advanced for a fourth day in London, the longest winning streak in a month, on gains by equity markets, a further drop in stockpiles and indications of a revival in the housing market. The MSCI World Index rose for a second day, adding as much as 1.2 percent. Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange fell for a ninth day. An association of U.S. house builders said yesterday its gauge of industry confidence rose for a second month, and a report today will show housing starts increased, according to economists’ forecasts. “Housing data is fairly important,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said by phone. Metals may climb further if the housing-starts figures provide additional evidence of a rebound, he said, particularly if shares also advance on the news. Investors’ greater willingness to take on risk is driving stocks higher, helping to lift metals, he said. Copper for three-month delivery rose $93, or 2.1 percent, to $4,613 a ton at 10:21 a.m. on the LME. In Shanghai, copper futures rose by the exchange-imposed 5 percent daily limit. The metal for July delivery added 1.4 percent to $2.1010 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. U.S. housing starts increased 2 percent to an annual rate of 520,000 last month, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The figures are due at 1:30 p.m. London time. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence rose to its highest since September, the NAHB said yesterday. 400 Pounds The construction industry uses a quarter of all copper produced, according to the Copper Development Association. A house contains 400 pounds of the metal, it says. Stockpiles of the metal in LME-monitored warehouses fell 1.3 percent to 348,825 tons, for a 14 percent decline in May. Prices also were helped by a weaker dollar, making metals cheaper for holders of other currencies, said Kryuchenkov. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against the euro and five other monies, fell as much as 0.8 percent. Copper has gained 4.1 percent in May on the LME, advancing for a fifth straight month on restocking by China, the world’s largest consumer. The country’s government increased subsidies for encouraging consumers to replace older vehicles with newer models to 5 billion yuan ($733 million) from 1 billion yuan, a statement posted on the State Council’s Web site shows. “The impact of the China-led rally has largely played out,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts led by Janet Kong said in a report dated yesterday. Metals fundamentals remain fragile, with demand weak outside China, Goldman Sachs said, though it’s still “constructive on the base metal sector” in the “medium to longer term.” Aluminum Production The bank forecast an economic recovery in China starting in the current quarter and the beginning of a global rebound in the second half of 2009. Copper remains its most-favored metal, the report shows. Aluminum for three-month delivery rose 0.1 percent to $1,522 a ton. LME-monitored inventories of the lightweight metal, used in industries from packaging to aerospace, rose 3 percent today to a record 4.1 million tons. The metal is still Goldman Sachs’s least-favored, according to the report. Aluminum is likely to see the strongest supply response as smelters restart idle capacity, which would cap any price advances, the bank said. United Co. Rusal, Russia’s largest aluminum producer, expects inventories to increase until the third quarter, Artem Volynets, the company’s head of strategy, said today. Still, there are some signs of improvement in the market, particularly in China, he said. Lead rose 2.4 percent to $1,525 a ton, and zinc gained 1.8 percent to $1,545.50 a ton. Nickel advanced 2.8 percent to $12,700 a ton, and tin rose 2.2 percent to $13,950 a ton.

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