Acestes blog

Copper prices rise on hope for stronger demand

Copper prices edged higher Thursday on expectations that demand will strengthen as the global economy continues to improve.

Copper for March delivery added 7.15 cents Thursday to settle at $4.3385 a pound. The metal is used in products from consumer electronics to construction materials.

Expectations for stronger demand are being driven by signs that economies in Europe and the United States are improving even as China's growth continues.

The European Commission said Thursday its business and consumer sentiment index dipped slightly in December but was still above its long-term average because of favorable conditions in industry, which has been the main driver of the economic recovery in the 17 nations that use the euro.

In the United States, the Federal Reserve acknowledged Wednesday that the pace of the economic recovery hasn't been fast enough to bring new hiring. The policymakers left intact a $600 billion Treasury bond-purchase program designed to lower interest rates.

At the same time, global copper supplies remain tight.

"The overall fundamental condition of the market in copper continues to ... shield it from some of the other weaknesses that you're seeing across the board in ... precious metals," said Dave Meger, vice president of metals trading at Vision Financial Markets.

Gold for February delivery dropped $14.60 to settle at $1,318.40 an ounce and March silver lost 9.7 cents to $27.031 an ounce.

In other metals trading, March palladium gained $8.90 to $813.50 an ounce and April platinum rose $6.60 to settle at $1,803.50 an ounce.

Oil prices fell on disappointing economic news. Benchmark oil for March delivery lost $1.69 to settle at $85.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders, excluding transportation, rose 0.5 percent last month following a much stronger increase of 4.5 percent in November. Also, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose last week.

In other energy contracts, natural gas futures for March delivery gave up 18.2 cents, or 4 percent, to settle at $4.319 per 1,000 cubic feet. February heating oil lost 1.62 cents to settle at $2.6551 a gallon and February gasoline gave up 4.34 cents to settle at $2.4132 a gallon.

Grains and beans were mixed. In contracts for March delivery, wheat gave up 10.25 cents to settle at $8.4625 a bushel, corn slipped 7 cents to $6.5075 a bushel and soybeans rose 14 cents to $13.995 a bushel.