BLBG:Copper Rises for First Day in Three as Base Metals Climb
Copper was seen rising in London as investors awaited the results of elections to fill the presidency and most of the legislature in the U.S., the second- biggest copper consumer.
Voters decide today between keeping President Barack Obama in office or replacing him with Republican challenger Mitt Romney. They also will select the occupants of all 435 House seats and 33 of the Senate’s 100 seats. Prices also were seen gaining before figures this week that may signal stabilizing economies in the U.S. and China, the largest copper user.
“For today, the market is probably focused on the U.S.,” Nic Brown, head of commodities research at Natixis SA in London, said by e-mail. “Not just the presidential election, but also the composition of Congress.”
Copper for delivery in three months climbed 0.4 percent to $7,679 a metric ton by 9:48 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Yesterday prices touched $7,596, the lowest level since Sept. 5. Copper for December delivery rose 0.5 percent to $3.486 a pound on the Comex in New York.
Figures due Nov. 9 may show little change in U.S. consumer confidence and stronger growth in Chinese industrial production and retail sales, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. China’s Communist Party will start a congress on Nov. 8 as delegates meet to decide on leadership changes.
“I suspect the market will shift to focusing on political and economic developments in China,” Brown said. “We’re starting to see signs of recovery in Chinese data, which might be expected to strengthen further once the new political team finally takes its place.”
Copper stockpiles monitored by the LME climbed 2.5 percent to 247,400 tons on deliveries in South Korea and Rotterdam, daily exchange figures showed. Inventories in bonded warehouses in Shanghai are at about 750,000 tons, compared with 300,000 tons at the end of 2011, Bonnie Liu, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. said in a note today.
Orders to withdraw copper from LME stocks declined for a ninth session in 10 to 35,750 tons.
Aluminum, nickel, lead, zinc and tin rose in London.
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
