Copper Gains in N.Y. as Dollar Falls, Oil Rises, Helping Demand

By Halia Pavliva

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Copper futures rose in New York for the third time in four sessions after the dollar fell and oil gained, boosting demand for the metal as an alternative investment.

The euro snapped three days of losses against the dollar, rising from near a three-month low. Crude oil advanced for the first time in three days. Copper is used in pipes and wires for cars, trucks and buildings. Some investors buy the metal to preserve value when the dollar falls and oil gains, fueling inflation concerns.

“The weaker dollar is helping the upbeat tone in metals,” Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global Ltd. in Darien, Connecticut, said today in a report. “Crude oil markets are also up.”

Copper futures for May delivery rose 4.9 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $1.5035 a pound at 9:14 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal gained 3.2 percent this year before today.

Copper’s gains may be curbed by rising supplies. Inventories of the metal monitored by the London Metal Exchange rose 2,950 metric tons, or 0.6 percent, to 528,250 tons, the highest in more than five years. Supplies have tripled from a year ago, contributing to copper’s 60 percent slide in the past year.

“Most markets, including metals, are higher today in what seems to be a bounce from oversold conditions,” Meir said in the report.

On the LME, the world’s biggest metals market, copper for delivery in three months rose $107, or 3.3 percent, to $3,342 a ton ($1.52 a pound). The price set a record of $8,940 on July 2.

Crude oil for March delivery rose as much as $1.49, or 4.3 percent, to $36.11 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price is still down 20 percent this year.

Europe’s single currency climbed to $1.2741 as of 9:24 a.m. in New York from $1.253 yesterday, when it touched $1.2513, the lowest since Nov. 21.

To contact the reporter on this story: Halia Pavliva in New York at hpavliva@bloomberg.net