Copper increases on recovery bets

Print this page Posted on : 08-25-2009 by recycleinme.com

London, Aug. 24

Copper prices rose to their highest in more than a week, helped by strong investment demand, a rally in global equities and bets the economic crisis is petering out.

Lead surged 7 per cent to $1,999.50 a tonne, its highest since late September, amid news China's Henan province has shut down 240,000 tonnes of annual lead smelting capacity on reports of lead poisoning.

Lead delivery after three months traded at $1,965 a tonne in official rings compared with $1,863 at the close on Friday, while copper traded at $6,361 compared with $6,270. "This is follow-through from Friday. There is a general appetite for risky assets driven by cheap money and lax monetary policy," the senior commodities strategist at Societe General, Mr Jesper Dannesbee, said. "Real demand has not improved that much. We are only moderately optimistic"

Among other industrial metals, aluminium, used in transport and packaging, traded at $1,916 a tonne in rings from $1,930, while tin traded at $14,355 from $14,300.

Zinc hit $1,920 a tonne while steel-making ingredient nickel hit $20,239 a tonne, both their highest in more than a week. The metals later traded at $1,965 against $1,834, and $19,650 against $19,300, respectively.

Source : Business Line