RTRS: METALS-Copper gains as euro recovers, Greece asks for aid
* Greece PM asks for aid package to be activated
* Currency markets offer base metals direction
* COMING UP: U.S. durable goods for March at 1230 GMT
(Recasts, adds comments/details, previous MANILA)
By Michael Taylor
LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - Copper rose on Friday as the
euro bounced back from losses against the dollar on news that
debt-ladden Greece has asked for financial aid, while upbeat
economic data boosted the demand outlook.
By 1023 GMT, copper for three month delivery CMCU3 on the
London Metal Exchange traded at $7,705 a tonne from $7,692 on
Thursday and compared with a session high at $7,759.
The euro clawed off a one-year low against the dollar as
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou asked for the activation
of an EU/IMF aid package aimed at pulling the euro zone member
out of a debt crisis. [MKTS/GLOB] [ID:nATH005401]
"Up and down like a yo-yo -- tracking currency moves
really," said David Thurtell, a strategist at Citigroup. "The
Greek debt should be contained. I'm optimistic that once this
Greek issue is resolved, the markets can focus on the pure
fundamentals again."
A weaker U.S. currency makes metals priced in dollars less
expensive for holders of other currencies.
Also supporting the demand outlook, German business
sentiment rose much more than expected, while Euro zone
industrial new orders jumped. [ID:nLDE63M0M0] [ID:nBEB004451]
This followed upbeat data on Thursday that showed the number
of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless aid fell last week
while producer price data showed inflation is muted.
CHINA CRUCIAL
Improving macro data, as well as a weaker dollar and fund
and Chinese buying, helped copper surge 140 percent last year.
Earlier this month, the metal used in power and construction
touched $8,043.75, its highest since August 2008, but has since
continued to meet stiff resistance near the $8,000 level.
Holding back momentum however, is a fear that China, the
world's top consumer of base metals, may be oversupplied with
copper after imports in March jumped more than 50 percent to
337,125 tonnes. [ID:nTOE63K02M]
"Copper is sitting in this tight range and I don't think
we'll be testing $8,000 again just yet," said Andrey
Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital. "Chinese monetary policy
will not affect infrastructure projects in the long run.
Often a demand indicator, copper stocks rose 25 tonnes to
507,150 tonnes, but were down from peaks of 555,075 hit on Feb.
17 that had previously not been seen since October 2003.
Aluminium CMAL3 traded at $2,305 versus $2,320. LME stocks
for the metal, used in transport and packaging, slipped 5,900
tonnes to 4.57 million tonnes, remaining near record levels
A large portion of those aluminium stocks are tied up in
finance deals, to release cash for producers and to earn banks
higher returns than they would get in money markets.
[ID:nGEE5BA277]
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For a graphic showing the technical outlook, click:
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For graphics on metal stocks, see:
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> Nickel CMNI3 was at $26,695 from $27,095 and battery
material lead CMPB3 was at $2,291 from $2,310.
Base metals traders have been focusing on dominant positions
within the smaller LME metal markets, especially nickel.
Analysts say a dominant position of all short positions in
nickel due this month, may be behind nickel's gains of 8 percent
this month and is likely to lend further support to prices in
the coming days. Zinc CMZN3 traded at $2,395 a tonne from $2,418 and tin
CMSN3 was at $19,000 from $18,950.
"Although Chinese base metal demand was strong in Q1, it is
unlikely that there has been significant erosion of the large
accumulated metal stockpiles," Royal Bank of Scotland said in a
research report.
"We still expect Chinese base metal imports to be
significantly lower in 2010 with growing domestic demand fed by
off-market stocks of metal."
Metal Prices at 1028 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2009 Ytd Pct
move
COMEX Cu 348.45 0.00 +0.00 332.75 4.72
LME Alum 2301.00 -19.00 -0.82 2230.00 3.18
LME Cu 7701.00 9.00 +0.12 7375.00 4.42
LME Lead 2287.00 -23.00 -1.00 2432.00 -5.96
LME Nickel 26600.00 -495.00 -1.83 18525.00 43.59
LME Tin 18875.00 -75.00 -0.40 16950.00 11.36
LME Zinc 2390.00 -28.00 -1.16 2560.00 -6.64
SHFE Alu 16550.00 -70.00 -0.42 17160.00 -3.55
SHFE Cu* 60600.00 -60.00 -0.10 59900.00 1.17
SHFE Zin 18990.00 60.00 +0.32 21195.00 -10.40
** 1st contract month for COMEX copper
* 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN
SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07
