Copper reports another gain, closing above US$ 2 per pound

LONDON.- Copper closed with another gain, this time of 7.06%, today at the London Metal Exchange (LME) after trading for US$ 2.00511 per pound of "grade A" material, compared to US$ 1.87288 on Tuesday and US$ 1.67194 on Monday of this week (the metal’s lowest value in 3.1 years).

A hike in Asian stock markets gave investors a boost back into basic metals.

Despite the gain however, the monthly average dropped to US$ 2.26326 while the yearly average slipped to US$ 3.47899.

"The volatility will continue. Basic metals are at very low levels and they will come back, but the time lapse is uncertain", stated David Moore, a raw materials strategist belonging to the Commonwealth Bank of Sydney.

Nevertheless, Moore claimed that a return from the losses suffered by the stock and the slow growth in demand, and perhaps even a recession, could mean that metals will have a difficult year ahead of them.

Meanwhile, the future-3-month price ended at US$ 2.00715 per pound, up 8.19% from Tuesday (US$ 1.85519).

At the LME, stocks rose by 1,750 metric tons to 217,300. So far this year, copper has registered an accumulated increase of 19,850 MT (+10.05%).