US Stocks Decline; Gold, Crude Oil and Copper Falls

U.S. Stocks Decline From Record Highs After Services Data

U.S. stocks fell, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed to a record high last week, even as data showed service industries grew at a faster pace in July. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent to 1,706.77 at 10:09 a.m. in New York. The S&P 500 is trading at 15.5 times estimated earnings, compared with an average of 13.9 over the last five years, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.


Gold Bulls Cut Wagers on Signs U.S. Growth Quickens: Commodities

Hedge funds lowered bullish gold bets for the first time in five weeks as signs of accelerating U.S. growth contributed to the longest retreat in prices in a month. Gold futures declined 0.9 percent last week, the first drop since the week ended July 5.

WTI Crude Falls for Second Day After Libya Reopens Port

West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a second day after Libya reopened a terminal closed by protests. Futures dropped as much as 1.2 percent as Libyan officials said the Marsa el Hrega port was operating and all oil fields in Libya’s western region returned to normal. WTI crude for September delivery declined 92 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $106.02 a barrel at 9:40 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Libya, holder of Africa’s largest crude reserves, is currently pumping 700,000 barrels a day, which should rise to 800,000 barrels next month.



Copper Falls as Chinese Service Stagnation Fuels Demand Concern

Copper fell in New York after three sessions of gains as a stagnant index of service industries in China stoked concern about the outlook for demand in the world’s largest consumer of the metal. Copper for delivery in September slid 0.6 percent to $3.153 a pound by 7:51 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Copper for delivery in three months fell 0.6 percent to $6,962 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. Copper stockpiles monitored by the LME fell for a 14th session to 606,900 tons, daily exchange figures showed. Orders to remove the metal from warehouses rose 2.3 percent, the most since June 27, to 324,300 tons.

Aluminum, zinc and nickel slid in London. Lead and tin rose.

Copper prices lower on China news, US housing starts

Copper prices fell Wednesday on the news that China is moving to limit the amount of credit available in the country in order to make sure that inflation does not spiral out of control.
Despite some analyst predictions that demand for the metal used in construction and manufacturing will remain strong, the new reports have spurred concern that demand will fall.
Also hurting copper prices was the news that US housing starts dropped by 4 percent in December, from November levels.

March copper was down 9 cents to $3.36 per pound in New York trade, while three-month copper dropped $145 to $7,387.50 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

Other base metals prices also fell in London as aluminium fell $29 to $2,257.50 per tonne, zinc was down $61 to $2,441.50 per tonne, lead was $86 lower to $2,386.50 per tonne, tin fell $137.50 to $17,775 per tonne and nickel dropped $410 to $18,802.50 per tonne.

Copper prices drop again; precious metals gain

Friday, September 11, 2009
Copper prices drop again; precious metals gain

Copper prices were lower again Friday as inventories continued to rise in warehouses monitored in London, Shanghai, and New York and as buying by China dropped 20 percent in August from July, according to the customs office in Beijing.

London Metal Exchange inventories were up 0.2 percent on the day while Shanghai-monitored stockpiles were up 12 percent during the week.

December copper was down 3 cents to $2.85 per pound in New York trade,
while three-month copper dropped $44 to $6,250 per tonne in London.

Elsewhere on the LMI, most other base metals saw prices drop, but tin was higher on the session.

Meanwhile, precious metals prices rose in New York as gold exceeded $1,013 per troy ounce in morning trade as the US dollar continued to weaken, making gold look like a better investment.
December gold ended the floor trade session up $9.60 to $1,006.40 per troy ounce, while December silver added 3 cents to $16.70 per troy ounce and October platinum gained $31 to $1,323 per troy ounce.

December palladium followed platinum higher in morning trade, adding $2.55 to $296 per troy ounce by just before 10:30 a.m. in New York.

Inventory gains hurt copper prices

Copper prices fell Thursday after inventories watched by the London Metal Exchange were up to 317,575 tonnes during the session, bringing gains in just less than two months to 24 percent, while stockpiles monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange were also higher.
Shanghai inventories have gained in each of the past six weeks.

Prices for the metal used in construction and manufacturing were hurt by concerns that demand in China will decline, especially considering the gains in Shanghai warehouses.

December copper was 5 cents lower to $2.88 per pound in New York trade, while three-month copper was last reported at $165 lower to $6,250 per tonne in London, a decline of 2.6 percent.
Other base metals prices were also lower on the session.

Most precious metals were also lower, although December silver added 20 cents to $16.67 per troy ounce in New York trade.

December gold was down 30 cents to $996.80 per troy ounce in New York, while October platinum dropped $1.70 to $1,290.60 per troy ounce.
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Copper gains after data, lead hits 13-mnth high

3 September 2009

Copper gains after data, lead hits 13-mnth high

* Lead hits 13-month high on China smelter shut-downs
* European equities weak after U.S. macro data
* U.S. payrolls eyed by investors

Copper staged a late rally on Thursday, as investors digested demand prospects following a flood of economic data in the United States, while lead hit a 13-month high on Chinese smelter closure worries.

Volatile copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange closed at $6,255 a tonne from a close of $6,175 on Wednesday, when the metal hit a near two-week low of $6,025.
Lead ended at $2,280 a tonne from $2,111, having earlier soared to $2,290, its highest point since late July 2008.

Before the ISM numbers, data showed new applications for jobless benefits in the United States fell last week, while activity in the services sector was at its strongest in nearly a year in August.
Investors also took comfort from Shanghai equities, which jumped 4.6 percent after a top securities regulator pledged late on Wednesday to keep the market stable.

The pledge means China, the world's biggest copper consumer, is better poised to continue driving copper prices. Record copper imports by China have been key in driving copper above $6,000 a tonne from around $3,000 at the start of the year.

Copper has also been driven by speculative buying and signs of economic recovery. Although there is a risk of a price correction in September, analysts are cautiously bullish in the longer term. LEAD SMELTER SHUT-DOWNS

Analysts said worries were growing about lead supplies from China, where smelters were shut down last week following lead poisoning incidents."The prevention of heavy metal pollution should be put in a more urgent and more important position," Environment Minister Zhou Shengxian told a national pollution prevention meeting, Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily said.

Zinc closed at $1,893 from $1,828, while analysts said that the lead developments in China could also impact the metal, mainly used to galvanize steel.

Aluminium closed at $1,852 a tonne against $1,846. Latest LME data showed aluminium stocks fell 3,000 tonnes, but remained near a record 4.6 million tonnes.

Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminium maker, said Chinese aluminium consumption would rise 8 percent in the second half from a year ago and cut its forecast drop in global demand for all 2009 to 5.5 percent from earlier forecasts of 7 percent.

Nickel ended at $18,200 from $18,100. Tin was at $14,450 from $13,950, having earlier hit $14,500, the highest in more than a week.

Metal Prices at 1610 GMT Metal Last Change Percent Move End 2008 Ytd Percent
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