Copper May Rise on Speculation About Fed Actions, Survey Shows

Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) –Copper may rise on speculation the Federal Reserve will act to bolster the economy in the U.S., the world's second-biggest consumer of the metal.

Six of 11 analysts, investors and traders surveyed by Bloomberg, or 55 percent, said prices will gain next week. One predicted a drop and four forecast little change. Copper for three-month delivery was up 2.2 percent for this week at $9,022 a metric ton by 5 p.m. yesterday on the London Metal Exchange.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is scheduled to give a speech today at an annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A year ago, he hinted at a second round of asset purchases to stimulate the U.S. economy. The Fed bought $600 billion in Treasuries from November through June in a second stage of so-called quantitative easing, known as QE2.

"Everyone is waiting to see how the U.S. Fed will react in the coming week," Marc Kaplan, president of Mews Metals Trading LLC in Verona, New Jersey, said by e-mail Aug. 24.

The red bars on the attached chart are derived by subtracting bearish forecasts from bullish estimates, with readings below zero signaling the majority of respondents expect a decline. The green line shows the copper price. The survey data shown are as of Aug. 19.

The weekly copper survey has forecast prices accurately in 73 of the past 151 weeks, or 48 percent of the time.

This week's survey results: Bullish: 6 Bearish: 1 Hold: 4