LME copper slips on US, Europe data

Print this page Posted on : 07-03-2009 by recycleinme.com

Copper extended its day's losses on Thursday, as grim US and European data underlined economic recovery could be a long way off, and as the dollar firmed.

Copper for three month delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $4,984 a tonne at 1303 GMT, down about 2 per cent from $5,090 at the close on Wednesday and compared with a session low at $4,975.

ALUMINIUM DIPS

Aluminium was at $1,634.75 from $1,663. LME inventories of the metal, used in transport and packaging, rose 2,500 tonnes, hovering just below a record level near 4.4 million tonnes.

Aluminium gained about 16 per cent in the second quarter as Chinese buying and a shortage of the metal in the near term buoyed prices.

Steel-making ingredient nickel traded at $16,125 from $16,450 while battery material lead was at $1,713 from $1,739.

Investors will closely watch developments from BHP Billiton Ltd which, for the second time in less than a month, temporarily closed its Perseverance nickel mine in west Australia due to rock falls.

Zinc traded at $1,563 a tonne from $1,595 and tin was at $14,280 from $14,500.

Worries about nearby tin supplies have pushed the premium for cash material over the three-month contract to around $68 a tonne from a discount of around $40 a tonne in mid-June

Source : Business Line