China Curbs on Overcapacity Show Strength of Economic Recovery

SINGAPORE, Aug. 27 -- Copper advanced in Asia as improving U.S. economic data outweighed concerns that demand is falling after China said it's studying curbs on overcapacity in industries including steel and cement.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Industrial metals gained after new-home purchases in the U.S., the world's second-largest copper user, jumped in July the most since Feb. 2005, and durable goods orders climbed the most since July 2007. Chinese policymakers are seeking to rein in investment growth fueled by record credit expansion this year, which helped copper prices more than double.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Curbing overexpansion in steel doesn't have a direct impact on copper, perhaps more on zinc,&quot; Jia Zheng, an analyst at Southwest Futures Co., said from Shanghai today. &quot;However the steel industry is a big consumer of base metals, so if demand from the steel sector weakens, it will have a negative impact on metals demand.&quot;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Three-month delivery copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 0.8 percent to $6,340 a metric ton and last traded at $6,325 at 10:47 a.m. in Singapore, ending two days of losses. Copper for December delivery in New York added 0.4 percent to $2.8890 a pound at the same time.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; October-delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.5 percent to 49,730 yuan ($7,279) a ton, paring an earlier loss of as much as 1.2 percent.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; China, the world's largest metals user, will also increase &quot;guidance&quot; over parts of the coal, glass and power industries, the State Council said on its Web site yesterday. Controls on stock and bond sales by companies in targeted sectors will be strengthened, it said.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum gained 0.6 percent to $1,877 a ton, lead rose 0.2 percent to $2,055 a ton and zinc was little changed at $1,848 a ton. Nickel was also little changed at $19,100 a ton, while tin added 0.2 percent to $13,875 a ton as of 10:46 a.m. in Singapore.
&nbsp;&nbsp; (Source: Bloomberg)
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