Copper Advances in N.Y. as Inventory, Dollar Declines Boost Metal Demand

Copper prices rose for the fourth time in five sessions as inventories fell and a weaker U.S. dollar boosted demand.


Stockpiles tallied by the London Metal Exchange have dropped 25 percent this year to the lowest level since November, a sign of steady consumption. The dollar fell to near an eight- month low against a basket of six major currencies, boosting the appeal of commodities as alternative assets.


“Copper has shifted from our least-preferred industrial metal to the most,” analysts at Deutsche Bank AG led by Michael Lewis in London said in a quarterly report today.


Copper futures for delivery in December rose 3.1 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $3.628 a pound at 11:31 a.m. on the Comex in New York.


“Most of the demand for copper has been from emerging markets like China and India, and LME stocks are still declining,” said Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago.


Before today, copper gained 31 percent in the past year as manufacturing accelerated in China, the world’s largest metals buyer.


Earlier, the metal fell as much as 0.8 percent as reports showed sluggish U.S. growth and the dollar rose.


Property values in 20 U.S. cities increased at a slower pace in July from a year earlier and consumer confidence dropped to a seven-month low, separate reports showed.


“Good U.S. consumer-confidence and house-price data are crucial for metals and other risk assets to avoid further losses,” said David Thurtell, a Citigroup Inc. analyst in London.


On the LME, copper for delivery in three months rose $63, or 0.8 percent, to $7,973 a metric ton （$3.62 a pound）. Aluminum, lead, nickel, tin and zinc also gained.