Mechel Jumps Most Since May as Commodities Rise on U.S. Jobs

OAO Mechel, Russia’s biggest maker of coking coal for steelmakers, gained the most in 11 weeks in New York trading after better-than-expected U.S. payrolls sent commodities higher.

The American depositary receipts surged 9.7 percent to $6.80 in New York, the most since May 21. The company’s Moscow stock rose 2.7 percent to 215.70 rubles, or $6.75. The Bloomberg Russia-US Equity Index (RUS14BN) of the most-traded Russian companies in the U.S. increased 3.5 percent to 92.20.

The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index (CRY) of raw materials advanced 2.1 percent to 300.69 as crude oil surged the most in a month. U.S. Labor Department figures showed payrolls increased 163,000 in July, compared with the 100,000 median estimate of 89 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Mechel (MTLR) said on July 30 that it increased production of coal by 7 percent in the first half of 2012 to 13.4 million tons.

“Market euphoria is driving Mechel higher,” Andrey Tretelnikov, an analyst at Rye Man & Gor Securities, said by phone from Moscow today. “The company has reported a very strong set of operating results earlier this week. The stock has every reason to rise, driven by optimism on the outlook for commodity demand.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Halia Pavliva in New York at hpavliva@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tal Barak Harif at tbarak@bloomberg.net