Copper tumbles almost 4%Going Down.When will aur tumble,by the end of the day or tomorrow?
Copper Prices Tumble Almost 4% in New York on Inventory Gains
By Millie Munshi
Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices in New York tumbled almost 4 percent after a jump in inventories fueled speculation that mine output will exceed demand for the metal used in pipes and wires.
Stockpiles in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange gained 2.9 percent today to 213,675 metric tons, the highest since March 2004. Copper has fallen 37 percent from a record $4.04 a pound in May as global inventories surged 64 percent.
``There are still a lot of copper stocks around,'' said Patrick Chidley, an analyst at Barnard Jacobs Mellet LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. ``Any excitement about demand has been outweighed by the stockpiles.''
Futures for March delivery fell 10.35 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $2.537 a pound at 12:28 p.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A close at that price would mark the biggest percentage drop since Jan. 3.
A futures contract in an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a fixed price for delivery by a specific date.
Global copper production exceeded demand by 353,000 metric tons in the 11 months ended November, the World Bureau of Metal Statistics said on Jan. 17. Consumption in China, the world's biggest user of the metal, dropped 2.8 percent in the period.
The metal will be in a ``modest surplus'' in 2007, said Stephen Higgins, an official at Phelps Dodge Corp., the world's third-biggest copper producer. Still, ``market fundamentals will continue to be favorable in 2007,'' Higgins said today on a conference call with investors.
Before today, prices had gained 20 percent in the past 12 months as mine accidents and labor disputes caused supply disruptions.
Phelps said today fourth-quarter profit surged, partly because of higher metal prices. Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. is buying Phelps Dodge in the world's biggest mining takeover.
On the LME, copper for delivery in three months fell $220, or 3.8 percent, to $5,590 a metric ton.