Sunday, 14 Mar 2010Bloomberg reported that copper gained for a 2nd day after China’s imports of the metal rose 10% in February compared with the previous month, adding to signs the economic recovery is gaining momentum.

Copper for 3 month delivery on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 0.6% to USD 7,557 per tonne before trading at USD 7,535 per tonne at 3:45 PM in Singapore. Futures also climbed as shrinking stockpiles fueled optimism that the global economic recovery is driving demand.

According to Bloomberg data, China shipped 322,282 tonnes of copper last month, 10% more than in January and 2% less than the same time a year ago.

Mr Stefan Graber analyst of Credit Suisse Group AG said that “We expect Chinese metals demand to remain robust as price spreads between London and Shanghai continued to favor import arbitrage into China.”

May delivery copper on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained as much as 0.6% to USD 3.4315 per pound, while the June delivery contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.6% to close at CNY 60,620 per tonne. Copper futures in London traded at a discount to Shanghai Futures Exchange contracts after gaining 9% last month compared with an increase of 11.6% in Shanghai.

Mr Wu Jianjian an analyst at Yongan Futures Company said that “It’s not a big surprise given the very favorable arbitrage opportunity last month, but I think it’s still too soon to determine if China’s demand will be robust this year.”

(Sourced from Bloomberg)