BLBG: Copper Advances Most in Two Weeks on Record U.S. Holiday Sales
By Maria Kolesnikova
Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose the most in two weeks in London after record holiday sales in the U.S., the world’s second-biggest consumer of the metal, fueled optimism demand will remain steady.
U.S. retail sales during Thanksgiving weekend climbed 16 percent to $52.4 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. Copper also gained as the euro climbed against the dollar after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble urged fast-track treaty changes to tighten budget discipline.
“The markets are being driven by good numbers out of the U.S. for Black Friday,” said Nic Brown, head of commodities research at Natixis Commodity Markets Ltd., referring to the day after the Nov. 24 Thanksgiving holiday. “It certainly appears that Europe is getting more serious in its consideration of closer fiscal integration.”
Copper for three-month delivery climbed 3.1 percent to $7,452 a metric ton by 10:11 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Prices increased as much as 3.5 percent, the most since Nov. 14. Copper for March delivery rose 3.1 percent to $3.3845 a pound on the Comex in New York.
Prices also gained as recent drops drew buyers. The LME Index of the six main metals traded on the exchange last week slid 4 percent, the most in five weeks. LME copper stockpiles dropped 0.5 percent to 392,775 tons, daily exchange figures showed today. Inventories in Asia, where top global copper user China is located, shrank for a 42nd straight session.
‘Bargain-Hunting’
“The stronger start to the metals this morning suggests there remain good levels of bargain-hunting demand and continued dip-buying support,” James Moore, an analyst at Fastmarkets.com, wrote in a report today.
The euro climbed as much as 1.1 percent against the dollar, making metals priced in greenbacks cheaper for users of the single European currency.
Metals also gained on speculation the Federal Reserve is poised to begin a third round of asset purchases to stoke the U.S. economy. The Fed will start another program next quarter, 16 of the 21 primary dealers of U.S. government securities that trade with the central bank said in a Bloomberg News survey last week.
Managed-money funds held net-short positions, or wagers on lower prices, of 3,491 Comex copper futures and options as of Nov. 15, compared with 1,767 a week earlier, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Nickel for three-month delivery on the LME advanced 2.4 percent to $17,365 a ton. Posco, the world’s biggest maker of stainless steel, will report record production this year, saying it expects to maintain that pace in 2012 supported by demand from emerging markets. Nickel is used to protect stainless steel against corrosion.
Aluminum rose 1.6 percent to $2,024 a ton and zinc gained 1.6 percent to $1,940 a ton. Tin climbed 0.2 percent to $20,745 a ton and lead advanced 1.7 percent to $2,038 a ton.
--With assistance from Helen Sun in Shanghai. Editors: Dan Weeks, John Deane.
To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Kolesnikova in London at mkolesnikova@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
