Copper in London Advances to a Record as Market Reopens; Aluminum Climbs

Copper jumped to a record on the London Metal Exchange, catching up with gains in other metals markets as trading resumed today after a two-day holiday. Aluminum, zinc and lead also climbed.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 1 percent to $9,437.50 a metric ton, surpassing the previous peak of $9,392 reached on Dec. 21. The contract traded at $9,397.25 at 12:18 p.m. Singapore time, up 27 percent this year and on track for a second annual gain.

“The industrial metals are going to be strong,” Edward Morse, head of commodity research at Credit Suisse Group AG., said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “They’re at record prices, copper’s at a record price but it should go to even higher heights because it’s highly supply-constrained,”

Futures on the Comex in New York fell as much as 0.9 percent to $4.289 a pound after reaching a record $4.3350 yesterday. The metal for March-delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced for a second day, rising as much as 0.6 percent to 69,440 yuan （$10,482） a ton.

Copper stockpiles monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 7,410 tons to 120,426 tons last week, the biggest decrease since the week ending Sept. 9, boosting the demand outlook in China, the world’s largest user. Inventories in LME warehouses are down 26 percent this year, on course for the first annual decline since 2004.

“This momentum we’re seeing in commodities as an asset class will probably continue into 2011,” Edward Meir, senior analyst at MF Global Holdings Ltd., said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “However, the danger with these things, as with all these spirals, is that when prices get too high you inevitably trigger some consequences. In the case of commodities, we could get inflationary pressures, you could trigger demand destruction, you can generate substitution.”

Aluminum in London climbed 1.6 percent to $2,450 a ton, zinc jumped 1.7 percent to $2,346 a ton, and lead advanced 1.7 percent to $2,471.75 a ton. Nickel fell 0.6 percent to $24,101 a ton, while tin was little changed at $26,801 a ton.