Copper Rises for Third Day on Jobless Claims, U.S. Confidence
Copper climbed for a third day, the longest rally this month, as U.S. reports showed an improved labor outlook and gains in consumer confidence, boosting demand prospects for the metal used in pipes and wires.
Jobless claims unexpectedly dropped to the lowest since April 2008, a sign that the labor market in the world’s second- largest copper consumer is strengthening heading into 2012. Consumer confidence climbed to a six-month high. Personal spending probably increased in November, economists said before a report tomorrow.
“The bottom in copper is already in,” Michael Smith, the president of T&K Futures & Options in Port St. Lucie, Florida, said in a telephone interview. “It’s all about optimism in the U.S., about getting people to spend more and put more money into stocks and commodities.”
Copper futures for delivery in March rose 0.6 percent to close at $3.4155 a pound at 1:16 p.m. on the Comex in New York. The price gained 2.6 percent in the previous two sessions as Chinese imports of the industrial metal climbed to the highest since June 2009.
Prices have dropped 23 percent this year as debt woes escalated in the U.S. and Europe and demand slowed in China, the biggest copper user. The metal touched a 14-month low of $2.994 on Oct. 3.
On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose 1.1 percent to $7,540 a metric ton ($3.42 a pound).
Tin, aluminum and lead also climbed in London. Nickel and zinc fell.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yi Tian in New York at ytian8@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page