Copper Prices Have Biggest Monthly Gain in Year on Signs of U.S. Demand

Copper prices rose, capping the biggest monthly gain in a year, on signs U.S. manufacturing will boost growth and metals consumption.

The Institute for Supply Mangement-Chicago Inc. said today that its business barometer rose to 62.3 this month, from 59.1 in June. The median estimate of 53 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was 56. Copper prices jumped 12 percent in July on bets that economies will improve in the U.S. and China, the world’s biggest metal buyers.

“There is no disputing the fact that growth prospects, particularly out of China, are now front and center in terms of market attention,” Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global Holdings Ltd. in Darien, Connecticut, said in a report.

Copper futures for September delivery rose 2.15 cents, or 0.7 percent, to settle at $3.3115 a pound as of 1:24 p.m. on the Comex in New York. This month’s gain was the first since March and the biggest since July 2009.

Earlier, futures fluctuated between gains and losses as traders weighed an improving global outlook against concerns that the U.S. economy is slowing. The metal fell as much as 1.3 percent.

The U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said today. The median of 81 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was 2.6 percent.

“We had a pretty lackluster GDP report,” which limited price gains, said Frank McGhee, the head metal dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services in Chicago.

Copper for delivery in three months rose 0.9 percent to $7,296.50 a metric ton ($3.31 a pound) on the London Metal Exchange.

Aluminum, nickel, zinc and lead prices also gained. Tin dropped.

To contact the reporter on the story: Millie Munshi in New York at mmunshi@bloomberg.net.

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