Copper rose for a second day in London before a report predicted to show economic growth sped up in the U.S., the world’s second-biggest consumer of the metal.
Tomorrow’s initial estimate for first-quarter gross domestic product will show annual growth of 3 percent, up from 0.4 percent in 2012’s final quarter, economists surveyed by Bloomberg News said. Copper also gained as recent declines drew buyers, according to Commerzbank AG, while Newedge Group SA said some traders bought metal to close out bets on lower prices.
“Low prices are probably luring buyers in,” Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, said by e- mail today. Traders were “waiting for GDP data,” he said.
Copper for delivery in three months added 0.3 percent to $7,051 a metric ton by 9:46 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Prices are down 6.5 percent in April, headed for the biggest drop in 11 months. Copper for delivery in July rose 1 percent to $3.1965 a pound on the Comex in New York.
Prices also increased as the euro strengthened against the dollar for a fifth session in six, according to Christin Tuxen, an analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. A weaker greenback makes commodities more appealing as an alternative investment.
Sales of new houses in the U.S. gained for a second month in three in March and a Federal Housing Finance Agency gauge of house prices climbed for a 13th month in February, figures showed this week. The Copper Development Association says construction generates about 40 percent of demand for the metal used in pipes and wiring.
Copper stockpiles tracked by the LME, up 93 percent this year, fell 0.3 percent to 618,475, daily exchange figures showed. Orders to remove the metal from warehouses climbed 0.4 percent to a record 168,200 tons.
The number of copper futures outstanding in London, or open interest, came to 483,990 contracts as of April 23, remaining at the highest since December 2011, LME figures showed today. Open interest rose 3.6 percent in a week as copper slid 5.9 percent, suggesting new short positions, or bets on lower prices.
Aluminum and lead rose in London. Nickel, tin and zinc fell.
To contact the reporter on this story: Agnieszka Troszkiewicz in London at atroszkiewic@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net