Copper jumps over 6% on hopes China will recover

Print this page Posted on : 02-07-2009 by recycleinme.com

London, Feb 6

Copper jumped more than 6 per cent, lifting other base metals with it on Friday on hopes that China, the world's biggest user of the red metal, will soon see an economic recovery. "There is a bit of belief that the Chinese stimulus package will begin to turn things around," Mr Dan Smith, an analyst at Standard Chartered, said. However, he said copper demand was still weak.

China's stock market jumped nearly 4 per cent in heavy trade on Friday, posting a weekly gain of almost 10 per cent, on the back of hopes for an early recovery of the country's economy. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was trading at $3,481 a tonne in official rings compared with $3,329 at the close on Thursday. "We think such optimism is based on shaky foundations and expect prices to remain weak in 2009," Deutsche Bank said in a note. It expects a global refined copper market surplus of 920,000 tonnes in 2009.

Higher copper prices lifted all the base metals even as inventory levels continued to grow. Aluminium prices rose to $1,452 a tonne from $1,433. Nickel surged to $11,11,550 from $11,450. Zinc was up at $1,151 from $1,144. Lead was last bid at $1,165 from $1,145, while tin rose to $11,000 from $10,850.

Source : Business Line