Copper Approaches Record as Swiss Franc Weakens on Global Recovery Signs
Swiss Franc
Adrian Moser/Bloomberg
The Swiss franc weakened for a second day and copper rose to near a record amid speculation the global recovery will continue into 2011.
The Swiss franc weakened for a second day and copper rose to near a record amid speculation the global recovery will continue into 2011. Photographer: Adrian Moser/Bloomberg
Copper Rises On Global Forecast
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Copper rose to near a record amid speculation the global recovery will continue into 2011.
Copper rose to near a record amid speculation the global recovery will continue into 2011. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Copper rose to almost a record high amid speculation the global recovery will continue into 2011. The Swiss franc declined and U.K. shares advanced for a fifth day before the holiday weekend.
Copper gained 0.7 percent, extending this year’s rally to 27 percent. The franc depreciated 0.4 percent against the euro. The FTSE 100 Index added 0.2 percent, swinging to a gain from a loss in the final minutes of trading. The S&P/TSX added 0.1 percent at 1:10 p.m. in Toronto. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell less than 0.1 percent, the first drop in four days, as North Korea threatened to wage a “sacred war” if attacked. U.S. markets were closed for the Christmas holiday.
Confidence among American consumers probably improved this month, economists said before the Conference Board’s report due to be released on Dec. 28. U.S. stocks completed a fourth straight weekly gain yesterday after data showed the nation’s economy grew more in the third quarter than initially reported and Americans increased spending in November for a fifth month.
“The continuing advance of base metals continues to prove the strength of economic growth and the tortuous business of turning on additional supplies of metals,” said Michael Smedley, who helps manage C$1.2 billion ($1.19 billion) as a money manager at Morgan Meighen & Associates Ltd. in Toronto. “In South America, the great major mines have been topping out for some time in production. It is not going to get easier, therefore, the pricing should not be getting easier.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index surpassed 1,251.70 this week, exceeding its closing level on Sept. 12, 2008, the last trading session before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy sent the economy into a tailspin and spurred a 46 percent retreat through March 9, 2009.
Copper, Nickel, Gold
Copper rose as high as $9,371 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, approaching the record of $9,392 set on Dec. 21, after stockpiles fell in China, the world’s largest buyer of the metal. Nickel gained 2.3 percent. Gold for immediate delivery added 0.3 percent to $1,383.72 an ounce.
The franc weakened against all 16 major counterparts, slipping 0.4 percent versus the dollar. The country’s central bank said it’s ready to counter deflation risks if necessary.
While most markets in Europe were closed, the FTSE 100 extended its fourth straight weekly advance, the longest streak of gains since September. The benchmark gauge has rallied 11 percent this year. Randgold Resources Ltd. dropped 4.3 percent in London after the metals producer said the “political impasse” in Ivory Coast will affect its fourth-quarter results. JJB Sports Plc surged 24 percent after the retailer announced measures to shore up its finances.
67% Surge
In the Canadian stock market, Western Financial Group Inc. surged 69 percent to C$4.15. Desjardins Financial Group, Canada’s largest credit union, agreed to buy the insurer for C$443 million ($439 million), or C$4.15 a share, to expand in British Columbia and Alberta.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 percent, ending a three-day advance. Nissan Motor Co. retreated 1.3 percent in Tokyo. Advantest Corp., the world’s biggest maker of chip- testing equipment, dropped 1.8 percent after revising a takeover offer. Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. plunged 5.7 percent in Seoul after selling new shares at a discount.
Automakers led a 0.7 percent drop in China’s Shanghai Composite Index after Beijing said it will limit the number of new passenger cars in the Chinese capital. South Korea’s Kospi Index declined 0.4 percent after North Korea threatened to wage a “sacred war” using nuclear weapons if attacked.
Investors pulled money from emerging-market equity mutual funds for the first time since May in the week ended Dec. 22 amid concern that rising commodity prices will prompt China to tighten monetary policy, according to EPFR Global. The funds have taken in a record $92.5 billion this year as the MSCI emerging-market gauge advanced 14 percent.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Matt Walcoff in Toronto at mwalcoff1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net.
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