BLBG:Copper Falls on Surplus Concern After Five Sessions of Advances
Copper fell in London after five sessions of gains, the longest run of advances since December, on concern supply of the metal used in pipes and wiring is poised to exceed demand.
A global surplus of copper may almost double in two years, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said yesterday. Southern Copper Corp. aims to produce 1 million metric tons by 2016, Chief Financial Officer Raul Jacob said yesterday, compared with 638,000 tons last year. The economy in leading copper consumer China slowed for nine of the last 10 quarters.
“I would not get too comfortable with any rally, as the fundamentals generally look bearish, especially on the supply side,” William Adams, an analyst at Fastmarkets.com in London, said by e-mail today.
Copper for delivery in three months retreated 1.4 percent to $6,953 a ton by 11:06 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Copper for delivery in September fell 0.8 percent to $3.154 a pound on the Comex in New York.
The copper surplus may rise to 500,000 tons in 2015 from 257,000 tons this year, Goldman Sachs said in a report. Mining companies BHP Billiton Ltd., Rio Tinto Group and Anglo American Plc (AAL) said last week their production of the metal gained from a year earlier in the three months through June.
Copper stockpiles monitored by the LME fell 0.8 percent to 622,950 tons, the seventh drop in a row, daily exchange figures showed. They’re still up 95 percent this year. Orders to remove the metal from warehouses declined 1.4 percent to 316,625 tons.
Tin for delivery in three months slid 0.5 percent to $19,400 a ton on the LME. Sales at PT Timah, the world’s third-biggest producer, may drop 18 percent this year as prices fall further amid slowing demand, said President Director Sukrisno. Tin slumped 17 percent this year on the LME, tying with nickel as the worst performer.
Aluminum, nickel, lead and zinc fell 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
