Copper Poised for Fifth Weekly Drop on Rising Inventory, Dollar

By Glenys Sim

Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Copper fell for a second day in Asia and is poised for its fifth weekly decline as rising stockpiles and the dollar’s recovery reduced investor demand.

Stockpiles of the metal monitored by London Metal Exchange warehouses climbed to 346,050 metric tons yesterday, the highest level since May 19. Copper slid 1.2 percent this week as a trade-weighted index of the dollar advanced for a second week, reducing the appeal of commodities priced in the U.S. currency.

“It appears that central bankers are becoming increasingly uneasy over the falling U.S. dollar,” said David Thurtell, a Citigroup Inc. analyst in London. “The rising U.S. dollar, in turn, is having an impact on financial market participants’ preparedness to put on new risk trades.”

London Metal Exchange copper for delivery in three months fell as much as 1.5 percent to $5,896 a ton at 3:19 p.m. in Singapore. The metal is heading for its longest losing streak since a seven-week slump that ended on Aug. 15, 2008.

December delivery copper on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 1.6 percent to $2.694 a pound at the same time. China’s markets are closed for an eight-day holiday.

The dollar strengthened to a three-week high against the euro as the prospect of slower global growth fueled demand for the safety of the yen and the U.S. currency.

A report later today will probably show the U.S. jobless rate climbed for a second month to 9.8 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The dollar also rallied after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said that “disorderly” exchange rate movements have “adverse implications” for economies, ahead of a Group of Seven meeting in Istanbul tomorrow.

Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum was down 1.6 percent at $1,827.50 a ton, zinc fell 1.5 percent to $1,885 a ton, and lead slid 4.6 percent to $2,090 a ton. Nickel dropped 1.2 percent to $17,220 a ton, and tin lost 2.8 percent to $13,750 a ton.

To contact the reporter for this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net