July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose to a one-month high in New York and London as U.S. retail sales beat forecasts and European industrial production climbed, signaling a recovery in the global economy. Retail sales in the U.S., the largest copper consumer after China, increased 0.6 percent in June, the biggest jump since January, the Commerce Department said yesterday. Output in the euro zone climbed 0.5 percent in May, the first gain in nine months, the European Union’s statistics office said yesterday, adding to signs that the worst recession in more than 50 years may be easing. “Copper is still looking strong,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said by phone. “People are still looking for proof of the green shoots theory. Industrial production wasn’t that bad in the euro zone.” Copper for September delivery rose 3.3 percent to $2.3740 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division at 8:17 a.m., after reaching the highest intraday price since June 15 at $2.3785. Copper for three-month delivery rose 3.1 percent to $5,200 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, after climbing as high as $5,219 a ton. Copper has advanced 69 percent this year in London, bolstered by demand from China, including for stockpiling. The Dollar Index, a gauge against six other major currencies, fell as much as 0.9 percent today to a two-week low, making dollar-priced metals cheaper to other currency holders. “The dollar has moved significantly and that is helping the metals prices,” Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said by phone. Output, Inflation The Federal Reserve today is likely to report that U.S. industrial production fell at the slowest pace in eight months in June. Output at manufacturers, mines and utilities decreased 0.6 percent, the smallest projected drop since production rose in October, according to the median forecast of 73 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. A separate report from the Labor Department today may show consumer prices rose 0.6 percent from May, the biggest gain in almost a year. Prices paid to U.S. producers increased last month by twice as much as anticipated, it said yesterday. The copper market moved into so-called backwardation this week for the first time since May 1, with metal for nearby delivery trading at a premium to three-months. The spread increased to $21 yesterday, from $3.5 the previous day. Inventories in warehouses monitored by the LME have shrunk 52 percent from their peak on Feb. 25. Today, stockpiles rose for the first time in seven days, to 261,100 tons. Focus on Tin Among other LME metals for three-month delivery, tin added 2.1 percent to $13,200 a ton. The premium on near-month delivery surged to $150 a ton yesterday, double the level a week ago. LME data shows one long position, or bet on a price rise, exceeds 40 percent of tin contracts to expire in September. There are six short positions, bets the price will fall, for the same month, each accounting for between 5 and 9 percent and one position accounting for between 10 and 19 percent. Stockpiles monitored by the LME rose 1 percent to 17,870, the highest since August 2003. Zinc jumped 2.7 percent to $1,536.75 a ton. The zinc market recorded the first deficit since September 2008 in May, the International Lead & Zinc Study Group said today. The surplus was 178,000 tons for the first five months of the year, it said. Aluminum rose 3 percent to $1,654 a ton, nickel gained 2.3 percent to $15,925 a ton, lead advanced 2.8 percent to $1,639.75 a ton. To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Stablum in London at astablum@bloomberg.net

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