Copper in London Declines From Record as Investors Secure Gains

Dec. 14 （Bloomberg） -- Copper dropped for the first time in three days as some investors sold the metal to lock in gains following its climb to an all-time high. Zinc, tin, aluminum and nickel advanced.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 0.6 percent to $9,166.75 a metric ton, and traded at $9,196.50 at 10:56 a.m. in Singapore. The contract reached a record $9,248 a ton yesterday after China refrained from raising interest rates, boosting the demand outlook in the biggest user.

“The potential for tightening in China will continue to hang over investors’ heads but everything the government has done so far has had little effect,” said Li Yaozhong, head of metals research at Yongan Futures Co. “We’ll get a little bit of profit-taking along the way but the uptrend remains intact.”

Copper surged yesterday after China, which on Dec. 10 raised reserve-requirement ratios for banks by half a percentage point, didn’t raise borrowing costs even as inflation jumped by the fastest pace in more than two years. The metal has gained 25 percent this year on stronger demand and declining stockpiles.

“The fundamentals are looking good, especially for copper,” Li said from Beijing. Until the Chinese government takes additional steps or “statistics start showing some slowdown, we’re going to see commodity prices move higher.”

The metal for March-delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange traded little changed at 68,850 yuan （$10,346） a ton, after gaining as much as 1 percent earlier. Futures on the Comex in New York dropped as much as 0.5 percent to $4.1850 a pound, after climbing to a 31-month high of $4.2225 yesterday.

Aluminum in London rose 0.2 percent to $2,335 a ton, zinc gained 1 percent to $2,345 a ton and tin climbed 0.4 percent to $26,250 a ton. Nickel climbed 0.2 percent to $24,590 a ton, while lead was unchanged at $2,440 a ton.