Copper slips as surging US jobless rate spurs demand concerns
Monday, 9 November 2009
LONDON, Nov 6 (Bloomberg): Copper prices declined after a report showed the US jobless rate climbed to a 26-year high as employers cut back more than forecast, raising demand concerns.
Companies slashed 190,000 positions from their payrolls last month, the Labor Department reported. That topped the 175,000 median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Copper futures gained earlier as the dollar slid as much as 0.3 per cent against a basket of six major currencies, spurring inflation concerns, and gold surged to a record.
"The big question right now is: Is the recovery going to be as strong as people were anticipating?" said Gijsbert Groenewegen, a partner at Gold Arrow Capital Management in New York. Currency rates also will be a "key factor" for copper prices, he said.
Copper futures for December delivery slipped 0.45 cent, or 0.2 per cent, to $2.9525 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex unit. The metal lost 0.1 per cent this week, the second straight decline.
"The jump in unemployment will hurt confidence and thus spending, which will weigh on metals demand," said David Thurtell, a Citigroup Inc analyst in London.
Earlier, copper rose as much as 1.6 per cent as the sliding dollar boosted the appeal of commodities as alternative assets.
The US Dollar Index, the six-currency basket, was little changed at 75.793 at 2:06 pm in New York, after earlier rising as much as 0.3 per cent.
Companies slashed 190,000 positions from their payrolls last month, the Labor Department reported. That topped the 175,000 median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Copper futures gained earlier as the dollar slid as much as 0.3 per cent against a basket of six major currencies, spurring inflation concerns, and gold surged to a record.
"The big question right now is: Is the recovery going to be as strong as people were anticipating?" said Gijsbert Groenewegen, a partner at Gold Arrow Capital Management in New York. Currency rates also will be a "key factor" for copper prices, he said.
Copper futures for December delivery slipped 0.45 cent, or 0.2 per cent, to $2.9525 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex unit. The metal lost 0.1 per cent this week, the second straight decline.
"The jump in unemployment will hurt confidence and thus spending, which will weigh on metals demand," said David Thurtell, a Citigroup Inc analyst in London.
Earlier, copper rose as much as 1.6 per cent as the sliding dollar boosted the appeal of commodities as alternative assets.
The US Dollar Index, the six-currency basket, was little changed at 75.793 at 2:06 pm in New York, after earlier rising as much as 0.3 per cent.