By Justin Carrigan and Stuart Wallace July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Industrial metals rose on speculation China will lead the global economy out of its worst recession since World War II, and the yen declined as investors sought higher-yielding currencies. Aluminum advanced for an eighth day, its longest winning streak in four months, while nickel rose to a three-week high. The yen fell versus all 16 most-traded currencies, weakening more than 1 percent against the Norwegian krone, South African rand and Australian dollar. The MSCI World Index added 0.1 percent to 1,006.71 as of 9:45 a.m. in London, rising for a ninth day for its most consecutive gains since December 2003. China imported a record amount of refined copper in June and aluminum purchases also gained as manufacturing in the nation expanded for a fourth month. East Asian economies including China, South Korea and Indonesia may post a “V- shaped” recovery from the global recession, the Asian Development Bank said today. “China’s appetite for many commodities has exceeded expectations,” Standard Chartered Plc analysts Judy Zhu and Helen Henton said in a report. “This has reinforced China’s increasing importance in the global market.” Aluminum for delivery in three months added 0.2 percent to $1,748 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. Earlier, the metal advanced to $1,765, the highest since Dec. 1. Nickel rose as much as 1.8 percent to $16,540 a ton. Zinc, tin and lead also gained. Crude oil for September fell 0.1 percent to $65.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Corn for December delivery rose as much as 3.9 percent to $3.3175 a bushel, the biggest gain since June 5. Earnings Improvement Earnings at companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index that have reported results since July 8 topped analysts’ estimates by an average of 11 percent, with 85 out of 114 beating projections, according to Bloomberg data. The yen declined as Japanese financial companies prepared to raise at least 700 billion yen ($7.42 billion) for funds that will invest in international assets. Japanese investors were net buyers of 709.4 billion yen of overseas assets in the week ended July 11, figures from the Finance Ministry showed last week. China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed to a 13-month high and benchmark equity indexes in South Korea and Indonesia advanced. The Asian Development Bank said the region’s economy will probably expand faster than the 3 percent estimated in March, before growth accelerates to 6 percent in 2010. Philippines Upgrade The Philippine peso rose as much as 0.3 percent after Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the country’s debt rating to Ba3, its best in more than four years. Russia’s Micex Index advanced 2.6 percent, the biggest rally among equity benchmarks in emerging markets, as gains in metals prices boosted mining companies. Dollar- and euro- denominated bonds sold by OAO Gazprom, the Moscow-based gas export monopoly, climbed on their first trading day, according to ING Groep NV prices on Bloomberg. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index, a benchmark for equities in 22 countries, added 0.9 percent to 814.07, which would be the highest closing level since Sept. 26, 2008. In Europe, Roche Holding AG added 2.3 percent after the world’s largest maker of cancer drugs raised its forecast for the year. Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland’s largest bank by market value, rallied 4.7 percent after it reported higher second-quarter earnings and sales. Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in September rose 0.3 percent after EBay Inc. reported better-than-estimated profit and sales. EBay climbed 3.9 percent in German trading. More than 60 companies, or about 12 percent of the S&P 500, are scheduled to report earnings today. European government bonds fell, with the yield on the benchmark German 10-year bund rising 3 basis points to 3.41 percent, after a report from the Paris-based Insee showed French business confidence improved for a fourth straight month. Evidence is mounting that the world’s biggest economies are emerging from their deepest recessions since World War II after the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve pledged $12.8 trillion to revive growth following the collapse of bonds tied to subprime mortgages froze credit markets in August 2007. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said June 24 its 30 industrialized member countries will grow 0.7 percent next year after shrinking 4.1 percent in 2009. Business activity may “record a much smaller decline in the second quarter and improve further in the third quarter,” Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer, who is also a European Central Bank council member, said yesterday in Philadelphia. To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Carrigan in London at jcarrigan@bloomberg.net

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