Copper Gains for First Day in Three as Recent Drop Spurs Buying

SINGAPORE, June 16  -- Copper advanced for the first time in three days in Asian trading after the dollar's gain drove it to a one-week low, attracting investors.

    The metal climbed as much as 0.6 percent on the London Metal Exchange, having lost 6.9 percent in the previous two days as the strength of the dollar curbed demand for raw materials as alternative investments. The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against six major trading partners, climbed 2.2 percent in the same period.

    "Some support might be found from physical buying or shorts buying back to close their positions, but near-term direction will still come from the dollar," Lin Yuhui, deputy general manager at Jinhui Futures Co., said from Shenzhen today.

    Three-month delivery copper on the London Metal Exchange advanced 0.5 percent to $5,030 a metric ton at 10:03 a.m. Singapore time. The metal slumped as much as 4.6 percent yesterday, the steepest decline since May 21.

    September-delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slid as much as 1.9 percent to 39,000 yuan ($5,704) a ton, before trading at 39,510 yuan, extending yesterday's limit drop. Copper for September delivery in New York was little changed at $2.2985 a pound.

    The dollar gained against 15 of the 16 major currencies on speculation a decline in global equities will spur demand for safer assets. The MSCI World Index fell the most in two months yesterday after a weaker-than-expected report on manufacturing in the New York region.

    Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum was down 0.2 percent at $1,607 a ton, lead slid 1 percent to $1,660 a ton and nickel added 1.2 percent to $14,800 a ton. Zinc gained 0.5 percent to $1,583 a ton, while tin hadn't traded as of 10:03 a.m. in Singapore.

    (Source: Blooberg)