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October 5th, 2012
Copper futures swung between gains and losses in New York before U.S. employment data is released later today.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said yesterday the bank is ready to start buying government bonds as part of a program to help ease borrowing costs for the region’s debt- ridden nations. Central banks from the U.S. to China have pledged more action to boost economic growth. Economists expect a report today may show U.S. payrolls rose last month.
“Copper probably will go up if more jobs are created,” Herwig Schmidt, head of sales at Triland Metals Ltd. in London, said today by phone. Stimulus helps copper “in the form of investment because of so much money around. It’s liquidity holding it up. It won’t hold it forever.”
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September 25th, 2012
Copper futures rallied from the lowest level in more than a week as Chinese users bought the metal to replenish stockpiles ahead of a week-long holiday.
The metal for delivery in three months climbed as much as 0.8 percent to $8,244 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange before trading at $8,225 by 2:27 p.m. in Shanghai. December futures rose 0.4 percent to $3.7445 a pound on the Comex.
“There is a bit of stockpiling need ahead of the long holiday next week,” said Fang Junfeng, an analyst at Shanghai CIFCO Futures Co. “Copper seems to be capped in range-bound trade with China and Europe being the main downside risks and a global deficit this year underpinning prices.”
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April 20th, 2012
Copper Futures – Copper traders are bullish for the first time in six weeks on mounting confidence that demand will accelerate in line with economies at a time when mining companies are already failing to keep up with consumption.
Eleven of 29 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect the metal to climb next week and 10 were neutral. Rio Tinto Group (RIO), based in London, said April 17 that its first-quarter copper output slid 18 percent because the ore mined contained less metal. Codelco, the largest copper producer, said the following day that it sees no weakening in Chinese buying. Barclays Capital is predicting a third consecutive year of shortages.
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April 13th, 2012
Copper futures fell, capping the biggest weekly decline since mid-December, on concern that demand may falter amid slowing economic growth in China, the world’s top consumer.
China’s economy expanded 8.1 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, government data showed today. That was the lowest in almost three years and trailed the 8.4 percent median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Copper also declined after a private report showed that U.S. consumer confidence slipped in April.
“China’s economy was weaker than expected, and the U.S. consumer sentiment figures only add to the concerns that copper demand may slow,” Dennis Cajigas, a senior market strategist at Zaner Group in Chicago, said in a telephone interview.
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April 5th, 2012
Copper futures may rise in New York before reports projected to indicate a firm job market in the U.S., the world’s second-biggest consumer of the metal.
Figures today probably will show first-time claims for jobless benefits reached a four-year low last week, a Bloomberg News survey of economists showed. A report tomorrow may show payrolls increased by more than 200,000 workers for a fourth month, according to a separate survey.
“There is a significant probability that industrial metals will rebound soon,” Tobias Merath, head of commodity research at Credit Suisse Group AG’s private-banking unit, wrote in a report. “U.S. nonfarm payrolls could be a trigger for this.”
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February 16th, 2012
Copper futures dropped to the lowest level in more than three weeks after Europe postponed a decision on a second Greek bailout, spurring concern the nation may default. Aluminum, zinc and lead fell.
Three-month copper retreated as much as 1.6 percent to $8,233 a metric ton, the lowest price since Jan. 23 on the London Metal Exchange, and traded at $8,267.75 by 3:55 p.m. Shanghai time. The contract retreated for a fifth day and was poised for the longest losing run since November. May-delivery on the Comex lost 1.1 percent to $3.7665 a pound.
Concern Greece will miss a debt payment next month grew as a decision on 130 billion euros ($171 billion) of aid was postponed until at least Feb. 20 and possibly until a full-time Greek government emerges from elections later this year.
“Copper is suffering a double whammy from the delay of an effective resolution in Europe and weak Chinese demand,” said Li Ye, an analyst at Shanghai Jiuheng Futures Co. The metal gained 9.5 percent in January, ending a two-month decline.
World copper production exceeded demand by 69,100 tons last year, compared with a shortage of 175,000 tons in 2010, the World Bureau of Metal Statistics said yesterday. The May- delivery contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed 2 percent lower at 59,210 yuan ($9,395) a ton.
Peru’s largest copper producers, including Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., Southern Copper Corp. and Xstrata Plc, face the risk of blackouts next year because of power line delays in the southern Andes, Mark Hoffmann, vice president at the National Society of Mining, Petroleum & Energy, said in an interview in Lima.
On the LME, aluminum fell 1.1 percent to $2,175 a ton, zinc dropped 0.9 percent to $1,993.50 a ton and lead lost 1.4 percent to $2,032.75 a ton. Nickel declined 0.7 percent to $19,945 a ton and tin retreated 0.8 percent to $24,400 a ton.
- Helen Sun in Shanghai at Bloomberg.