Copper Rebounds as Equity Rally Helps Dispel Demand Concern

SINGAPORE, Sept. 15 -- Copper climbed from an eight-day low in Shanghai as a rally in equities helped dispel concern that demand for the metal may be slowing.

    Futures climbed for the first day in three after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index yesterday climbed to its highest level in almost a year. The metal, used in plumbing and electrical cable, dropped as much as 4.2 percent yesterday as global inventories expanded and on the risk of a widening trade dispute between China and the U.S.

    "Stocks in the U.S. seem to have a firm footing, which is helping overall sentiment," said Cai Luoyi, an analyst at China International Futures (Shanghai) Co. "The magnitude of the decline yesterday was surprising given it's too early to tell if the trade issue between China and the U.S. will escalate into something much bigger."

    December-delivery copper gained as much as 1.8 percent to 48,450 yuan ($7,095) a metric ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange and last traded at 48,100 at 11:41 a.m. local time.

    Three-month delivery copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 0.7 percent to $6,180 a ton and last traded at $6,155 a ton. December-delivery copper in New York was little changed at $2.802 a pound.

    Today marks the one-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s bankruptcy filing, which dragged the global economy into its worst postwar slowdown and pulled copper down 14 percent in the past year.

    Inventories tallied by the London Metal Exchange expanded for a 12th day to 319,800 metric tons yesterday, the highest level since May 26. Stockpiles of copper in Shanghai climbed for a seventh week last week to 97,396 tons, the highest level in two years.

    Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum rose 0.3 percent to $1,840 a ton and zinc added 1 percent to $1,850 a ton. Lead was little changed at $2,106 a ton, nickel was little changed at $16,650 a ton, while tin hadn't traded as of 11:45 a.m. in Singapore.

    (Source: Bloomberg)