Higher stocks drag down copper

Print this page Posted on : 10-29-2009 by recycleinme.com

London, Oct. 28

Copper prices fell on Wednesday as a fresh rise in inventories underlined the scarcity of actual demand.

A decline in equities also reflected investors' worries about the outlook for global economic recovery.

Copper for three-month's delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $6,497.5 a tonne at 1046 GMT from a close of $6,585 on Tuesday.

Inventories of copper at LME warehouses rose 1,075 tonnes to 371,725 tonnes, their highest level since May.

''There's not a lot of underlying physical demand,'' Mr David Thurtell, an analyst at Citi, told Reuters. ''We've seen gradually consumer restocking as things recover, but the consumers are reluctant to pay the highs so they're really sticking to hand to mouth at the moment at these levels.'' Equities fell as a recent bout of mixed data has underlined uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery.

Aluminium slips

Aluminium was at $1,956 from $1,985.

Japan reported a month on month rise in aluminium shipments to 157,085 tonnes in September from 138,920 tonnes in August. But shipments remain 18.3 per cent down from a year earlier. Japanese demand for metals plunged from late last year as the worst global economic downturn in decades hit consumer spending and forced manufacturers to cut output.

Zinc traded at $2,260.5 from $2,313. Battery material lead was at $2,250 from $2,270.5, tin was at $14,810 from $15,300 and nickel was at $18,324 from $18,650.

Source : Business Line