BS: Copper Heads for Strongest Week Since April on China Demand
By Millie Munshi and Anna Stablum
June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices rose, heading for the biggest weekly gain in two months, on speculation that demand will grow in China, the world’s biggest metals consumer.
Industrial production in China jumped 16.5 percent in May, and retail sales in the country rose 18.7 percent last month, government reports showed. Copper pared gains after a report showed sales at U.S. retailers unexpectedly dropped in May. Before today, the metal had slumped 14 percent this year on demand concern.
“Copper is very tied to the outlook for the economy, and China is at the forefront of that,” said Lannie Cohen, the president of Capitol Commodity Services in Indianapolis. “China still looks strong, but the retail sales numbers were disappointing. The market will be a little choppy.”
Futures for July delivery rose 6.6 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $2.9285 a pound at 10:21 a.m. on the Comex in New York. A close at that price would leave the metal up 3.9 percent this week, the most since the week ended April 2.
On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months added 1.5 percent to $6,505 a metric ton ($2.95 a pound). Nickel, lead, tin, zinc and aluminum prices also gained.
--With assistance from Bob Willis in Washington. Editors: Michael Arndt, Daniel Enoch.
To contact the reporters on the story: Millie Munshi in New York at mmunshi@bloomberg.net; Anna Stablum in London at astablum@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.
