Copper Trades Near One-Week High on U.S., China Stimulus Plans

By Li Xiaowei

Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Copper traded near a one-week high in London on speculation government spending plans in China and the U.S., the world’s largest copper users, will spur economic growth and boost demand for the industrial metal.

Asian stocks gained for a second day after Japan and Australia widened efforts to revive economic growth. China started investing the second part of its 4 trillion yuan ($580 billion) stimulus plan and the U.S. Senate has started debate on an estimated $885 billion spending package.

“Stimulus plans around the world are the focus of the financial markets, bolstering sentiment in metals too,” Wang Lei, an analyst at Haitong Futures Co., wrote in an e-mailed report today.

Copper for three-month delivery rose as much as 1 percent to $3,406.75 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, the highest intraday price since Jan. 28. The contract traded at $3,380.25 at 10:14 a.m. in Shanghai.

April-delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 3.3 percent to 27,350 yuan at the same time.

China’s manufacturing shrank for a fourth month as exports fell because of the global recession, a government-backed survey showed today.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 45.3 in January, from 41.2 in December, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today in an e- mailed statement. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction.

Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum was unchanged at $1,405 a ton and zinc added 0.5 percent to $1,179.75.

To contact the reporter for this story: Li Xiaowei in Shanghai at xli12@bloomberg.net