Copper climbs a second day on China imports
Thursday, 11 March 2010
SINGAPORE, March 10 (Bloomberg): Copper gained for a second day after China's imports of the metal rose 10 per cent in February compared with the previous month, adding to signs the economic recovery is gaining momentum.
Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 0.6 per cent to $7,557 a metric tonne, before trading at $7,535 at 3:45 pm in Singapore. Futures also climbed as shrinking stockpiles fueled optimism that the global economic recovery is driving demand.
China, the world's biggest copper consumer, shipped 322,282 tonnes of copper last month, 10 per cent more than in January and 2 per cent less than the same time a year ago, according to Bloomberg data.
"We expect Chinese metals demand to remain robust as price spreads between London and Shanghai continued to favor import arbitrage into China," Stefan Graber, Credit Suisse Group AG analyst, said in a note Wednesday. Arbitrage is where investors attempt to profit from price disparities for the same asset in different markets.
May-delivery copper on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained as much as 0.6 per cent to $3.4315 a pound, while the June-delivery contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.6 per cent to close at 60,620 yuan ($8,881) a tonne.
Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 0.6 per cent to $7,557 a metric tonne, before trading at $7,535 at 3:45 pm in Singapore. Futures also climbed as shrinking stockpiles fueled optimism that the global economic recovery is driving demand.
China, the world's biggest copper consumer, shipped 322,282 tonnes of copper last month, 10 per cent more than in January and 2 per cent less than the same time a year ago, according to Bloomberg data.
"We expect Chinese metals demand to remain robust as price spreads between London and Shanghai continued to favor import arbitrage into China," Stefan Graber, Credit Suisse Group AG analyst, said in a note Wednesday. Arbitrage is where investors attempt to profit from price disparities for the same asset in different markets.
May-delivery copper on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained as much as 0.6 per cent to $3.4315 a pound, while the June-delivery contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.6 per cent to close at 60,620 yuan ($8,881) a tonne.