Copper Advances Most in a Week as Equity Rally Boosts Demand

Sept. 8 （Bloomberg） -- Copper rose the most in a week as U.S. stocks advanced, boosting demand for commodities.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed as much as 1 percent as improved demand for Portuguese and Polish bonds tempered speculation that Europe’s debt crisis will trigger another recession. Copper has jumped 22 percent since July 1 as inventories dropped. The S&P 500 has gained about 7 percent in the same period.

“Gains in the S&P accelerated, and that’s spilling over to support copper,” said Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago. “Copper is at the mercy of equities.”

Copper futures for delivery in December added 3 cents, or 0.9 percent, to close at $3.5005 a pound at 1:27 p.m. on the Comex in New York, the biggest gain for a most-active contract since Sept. 1.

On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months added $46, or 0.6 percent, to $7,675 a metric ton （$3.48 a pound）。

LME copper stockpiles dropped for a fourth straight session to 394,500 tons. That’s the lowest level since Nov. 10. Inventories have slid 21 percent this year.

“Long-term fundamentals are still appealing,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said in a report. “Restocking will be driven by seasonal demand factors, with a pickup in economic activity later this autumn.”

Lead, nickel, tin and zinc also climbed in London. Aluminum fell.