Copper Advances in London, Heads for Best Quarter Since 2006

By Anna Stablum

March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose on the London Metal Exchange, heading for its best quarter in almost three years, as the dollar fell and European stock markets rebounded.

The Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against six counterparts, slid as much as 0.6 percent after three days of gains. Declines by the dollar reduce the cost of commodities priced in the currency for holders of other monies. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index of European shares added as much as 2 percent, and futures on U.S. stock indexes advanced.

“Dollar weakness and somewhat friendlier equity markets in Europe are helping metals higher,” Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said by telephone.

Copper for three-month delivery rose $120, or 3.1 percent, to $4,030 per metric ton at 9:55 a.m. local time, rebounding from yesterday’s 3.5 percent drop. The metal has added 31 percent this year in LME trading, poised for its best quarter since the three months through June 2006, and reached a four- month high of $4,168 on March 27.

The metal has gained in 2009 on optimism demand may improve as governments and central banks spend trillions of dollars in an effort to stimulate economies and combat the worldwide economic slowdown. The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have spent, lent or guaranteed $12.8 trillion, an amount nearing the value of everything produced in the country last year.

LME-monitored stockpiles of copper, used in plumbing and electrical wiring, fell 1,775 tons to 499,625 tons. Metal earmarked for delivery represented 5.3 percent of the total.

Aluminum Gains

Aluminum for three-month delivery rose $13.50, or 1 percent, to $1,407.50 a ton. LME-monitored stockpiles slipped 0.3 percent from yesterday’s record 3.48 million tons.

“We are seeing a tremendous increase in inventories, but the growth of the buildup is slowing down and we are seeing the effect of capacity curtailments,” Svein Richard Brandtzaeg, Norsk Hydro ASA’s chief executive officer, said yesterday in an interview. The Oslo-based company is Europe’s second-largest producer of aluminum.

Makers of the lightweight metal, used in industries from packaging to aerospace, have cut 6 million tons of worldwide capacity, or 13 percent of the global total, according to Citigroup Inc.

Lead added $20, or 1.6 percent, to $1,270 a ton, extending this year’s gain to 27 percent, the second-biggest on the LME after copper. Zinc rose 0.9 percent to $1,326.50 a ton, nickel advanced 0.3 percent to $9,600 a ton, and tin climbed 0.7 percent to $10,370 a ton.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Stablum in London at astablum@bloomberg.net.