Copper rebounds, Aluminium prices go up

LONDON ( Commodity Online) : Copper made a comeback after lying low for six days as investors purchased the metal subsequent to the longest slump since June, driven by expectations that demand will outstrip supply, cutting down stock piles.

Three-month copper contract in LME climbed 1.3 % to touch $9,439.25 a metric ton, traded at $9,428.75 at 3:08 p.m. in Singapore.

April contract copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange jumped 1.3 % to touch 70,920 yuan ($10,713) a ton even as in New York, it rose 1.2 % to touch $4.3150 a pound.

On January 4, the metal had climbed to a record $9,754 on reduced supplies.

Inventories under the scanner of Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed for a second week to touch a six-month high of 132,166 tons the previous week.

Supply hiccups in Chile, the largest producer, may add to the tight supply woes following a port accident there.

The International Copper Study Group expects a 435,000-ton global deficit for refined copper this year.

Meanwhile, Aluminum climbed 0.3 % to reach $2,495 a ton in LME. It had touched $2,541 on January 7, the highest price since September 2008.

Bloomberg quoted CEO of Alcoa Inc, the largest US aluminum producer as saying, “Chinese smelting production is down about 15 percent from mid-year highs in 2010, so if aluminum prices stay up or move even higher I think you’re going to see a production response,”

He expects demand growth in Chinese and stabilized demand from US.