Sept. 14 （Bloomberg） -- Copper prices rose for a second day in London as the dollar fell, boosting the appeal of commodities as alternative investments. Tin jumped to the highest level in more than two years.
The dollar tumbled to a 15-year low against the yen on mounting speculation that the Federal Reserve will buy additional Treasury securities this year to help sustain growth. Copper has gained 13 percent on the London Metal Exchange since June 1, while the greenback has dropped 6.4 percent against a basket of six major currencies.
LME metals “witnessed a bursting revival as the dollar weakened,” Alex Heath, the head of industrial-metals trading at RBC Capital Markets in London, said in a report. “This revival coincided with a lot of technical selling of the U.S. dollar.”
Copper for delivery in three months added $25, or 0.3 percent, to $7,655 a metric ton （$3.48 a pound） at 6:10 p.m. London time. Yesterday, the price climbed 1.9 percent, the biggest gain for a most-active contract since Sept. 1.
Prices will keep rising through the end of the year as the dollar weakens and economic data improves in China and the U.S., the world’s largest metal users, said Lannie Cohen, the president of Capitol Commodity Services Inc. in Indianapolis.
Stockpiles monitored by the LME, down 22 percent this year, will continue to “fall sharply through 2011 and 2012,” Nomura Holdings Inc. forecast last week.
Tin climbed 1.6 percent to $22,650 on the LME. Earlier, the metal touched $22,651, the highest price since July 30, 2008. Nickel, zinc and aluminum also gained, while lead fell.
In New York, copper futures for delivery in December fell 1.05 cents, or 0.3 percent, to close at $3.4685 a pound on the Comex at 1:11 p.m. local time. The metal fluctuated between gains and losses, earlier rising as much as 0.5 percent.
--Editors: Millie Munshi, Daniel Enoch
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