Copper climbed from the lowest level in almost three weeks as concern over weakening demand eased after economic growth in China, the world’s largest consumer, met expectations.The metal for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange gained as much as 0.7 percent to $6,584.75 a metric ton and traded at $6,576 at 1:11 p.m. in Hong Kong. Copper fell 1.9 percent yesterday, the biggest drop in a month.
While expansion moderated to the weakest pace in six quarters in China, the 7.4 percent advance in gross domestic product compared with the 7.3 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts.
“The GDP number is in line with the market expectations,” said Tetsu Emori, a senior fund manager at Astmax Asset Management Inc. in Tokyo. Investors may now “rethink what position the market will be heading,” he said.
In New York, the copper futures contract for July gained 0.2 percent to $2.988 a pound. In Shanghai, the metal for the same month lost 0.7 percent to 46,220 yuan ($7,427).
On the LME, aluminum, nickel, lead and tin all fell while zinc advanced.
Source: Bloomberg
