SMM Daily Review (Aug. 12)

SHANGHAI, Aug. 13 -- Copper climbed to the highest price since October as renewed economic growth increased demand for industrial metals.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates &quot;exceptionally low&quot; for an extended period. Policy makers acknowledged signs that the worst recession since the 1930s may be ending. Copper, used in homes and power grids, is viewed as a barometer of economic growth.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Optimism on an economic recovery is fueling buying,&quot; Jin Shan, a Minmetals Starfutures Co. trader, said from Shenzhen.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Three-month delivery copper advanced as much as 2 percent to $6,314 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, the highest level since Oct. 1, before trading at $6,299.75 at 10:42 a.m. Singapore time.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Copper for November delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed as much as 5 percent, or the daily limit, from the previous settlement price to 50,280 yuan ($7,357) a ton, the highest since Oct. 6. The contract last traded at 49,430 yuan.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shanghai copper rebounded after dropping as much as 2.1 yesterday on a decline in China's new loan growth in July.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;The slowdown in China's loan growth isn't a problem as the multiplier effect is still in place,&quot; Gu Jianjun, an investment manager at Jingyuan Futures Co. said from Shanghai today, referring to an expansion of the country's money supply.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; China's new loans plunged to 355.9 billion yuan, less than a quarter of advances in June, the central bank said this week. M2, the broadest measure of money supply, rose 28.4 percent.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum rose 1.3 percent to $2,010 a ton, zinc added 1.8 percent to $1,885 a ton and lead jumped 2.3 percent to $1,889 a ton. Nickel climbed 2.9 percent to $20,210 and tin was 0.9 percent up at $14,990 as of 9:58 a.m. in Singapore.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (Source: Bloomberg)
&nbsp;