BLBG; Copper Declines as Durable-Goods Report May Show Weaker Growth in Orders
Copper fell in New York on concern about the strength of expansion in the U.S., the second-biggest consumer of the metal, before a report expected to show slower growth in orders for long-lasting goods.
Durable-goods orders probably rose 0.3 percent in June, slowing from a revised 2.1 percent in May, economists surveyed by Bloomberg said. The figures are due at 8:30 a.m. New York time.
“Today’s focus in terms of economic data is on U.S. durable-goods orders,” Credit Suisse Group AG analysts includingStefan Graber in Zurich said in a report today.
Copper for September delivery dropped 3.6 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $4.442 a pound by 7:43 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Copper for three-month delivery slid 0.6 percent to $9,760.50 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.
“We’ve seen profit-taking this morning,” said Nick Riley, head of LME sales at Marex Financial Ltd., one of 12 companies on the exchange floor. So-called commodity trading advisers bought aluminum and sold copper, he said.
Declines may be limited as a strike continues at the world’s biggest copper mine, BHP Billiton Ltd.’s Escondida in Chile. The company is refusing to negotiate with workers.
Copper is “benefiting from the strike at Escondida and on concerns that this might spark further labor unrest,” William Adams, head of research at FastMarkets.com, said in a report. Still, “the broader economic and financial situations suggest that demand may get weaker before it gets stronger again.”
Default Standoff
Republican lawmakers in the U.S. are in a standoff with President Barack Obama over raising the government’s debt ceiling, with less than a week remaining until a potential default.
Aluminum for three-month delivery on the LME fell 0.1 percent to $2,647 a ton, erasing a gain of as much as 1 percent. Cash metal price was $22.50 a ton cheaper than the three-month contract, a so-called contango that narrowed from $29.75 as of July 20. The tighter spread is “helping the price,” Marex’s Riley said.
Zinc and led fell in London, while nickel and tin gained.
To contact the reporter on this story: Agnieszka Troszkiewicz in London at atroszkiewic@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
