Copper ends higher

Weak dollar helps red metal eke out gains

Copper prices gained considerably on Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 at Comex and LME. Prices rose today following the weak dollar.

At USA, copper futures for December delivery ended up by 9 cents (3.3%) to 2.819 a pound. Copper fell 1.6% last week. Copper ended September, 2009, higher by 0.4%.

On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months ended higher by $194 (3.3%) at $6,169 a metric ton. On 3 July, 2008, prices had touched an all time intra day high of $8,940.

After September, it was the ninth straight monthly gain for copper. On a year to date basis, prices are higher by 89%.

The U.S. buys about 13% of the 17 million metric tons of copper sold annually and China buys about 20%.

In the currency market on Wednesday, Tuesday, the dollar slipped following upbeat economic data. The U.S. dollar remained lower after the government said U.S. real gross domestic product for the second quarter was revised to a decline of 0.7% annualized from the earlier estimate of a 1% drop. The dollar index, which measures the strength of dollar against a basket of other currencies, fell by almost 0.6%.

In FY 2008, copper prices dropped by 54%. Prior to 2008, copper prices ended FY 2007 with a gain of mere 5.5% after a whopping 44% gain in FY 2006. The price of copper gained every year since 2002 as global economic growth boosted demand for the metal used in pipes and wires.

At the MCX, copper for November delivery closed at Rs 297.1/Kg. The closing price was Rs 7.2/Kg (2.5%) higher than previous closing price. Prices rose to a high of Rs 298.65/ Kg and fell to a low of Rs 291.2/Kg during the day's trading.

Among other metals traded in the LME on Wednesday, lead rose 3% to $2,298 a ton and zinc rose 2.6% to end at $1,932 a ton. Nickel added 2.1% to end at $17,500. Aluminium rose 1.1% to $1,886 a ton.