Korea PPS Buys 3,000 Tons Copper; $110/Ton Premium To LME

SINGAPORE, Jun 28, 2010 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) -- South Korea's Public Procurement Service, a state agency that stockpiles strategic commodities, said Tuesday it had bought 3,000 metric tons of copper at a premium of $110 to the prevailing London Metal Exchange price.

The premium was higher than its last tender Feb. 11, when it paid $85 over the LME price, as the Korean physical market has become "slightly tight," said a PPS executive.

"It is believed that copper-consuming manufacturing activity has been resilient so far in Korea compared to last year, even though it is coming to the slower summer season," said the executive.

Many South Korean market participants expect copper demand to ease in the second half of the year, the executive said, but there was no sign of this so far.

The tender was won by LS Nikko Copper.

The PPS also bought 1,000 tons of copper of Zambian origin from Swikor, an agent of Glencore international AG, at a $123 premium.

At 0255 GMT, LME three-month copper was at $6,745/ton, down $123 since Monday's kerb.