July 26 (Bloomberg) -- Copper may rise for a sixth day in New York, the longest winning streak in more than a month, after inventories resumed their contraction, signaling steady demand.
Stockpiles tracked by the London Metal Exchange slid today after rising on July 23 for the first time in 26 sessions. Copper added as much as 0.8 percent today before paring the gain as the dollar rebounded and Treasuries climbed. The U.S. currency had slipped after results of stress tests on European banks showed that most lenders passed.
“Risk appetite remains choppy as the market digests the impact of the euro-area bank stress test,” said Daniel Major, an analyst at RBS Global Banking & Markets in London.
Copper for September delivery gained 0.1 cent to $3.186 a pound at 7:56 a.m. on the Comex in New York. The most-active contract erased a drop of as much as 0.6 percent. Copper for delivery in three months climbed 0.1 percent to $7,035 a metric ton on the LME.
London copper has dropped 4.6 percent this year, partly on speculation about the effect of steps taken by China’s government to restrain the nation’s surging economy. Gross domestic product expanded more slowly in the second quarter and inflation cooled in June, according to figures released this month. China is the world’s largest copper consumer.
Chinese Demand
“The monetary measures implemented in China should lead to a cool-down in economic activity, and therefore metal demand,” said Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “This should weigh on prices.” The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s strength, dropped 0.2 percent after gaining as much as 0.2 percent. A weaker dollar makes metals priced in the currency cheaper in terms of other monies. The index has retreated for seven weeks in a row, cutting this year’s climb to 5.7 percent.
Stockpiles of copper in warehouses monitored by the LME dropped 0.8 percent to 416,275 tons, the lowest level since Nov. 18, exchange figures showed today. Inventories are down 17 percent this year and headed for the first annual drop since 2004. Bookings to remove copper from LME warehouses fell 11 percent to 33,525 tons.
Tin for three-month delivery on the LME dropped 0.7 percent to $19,350 a ton after reaching the highest intraday price since September 2008 in the prior session. Stockpiles tracked by the LME dropped 1.6 percent to 15,370 tons today, the least since June 8, 2009. Bookings to remove metal from LME warehouses fell 16 percent to 1,130 tons.
Aluminum, Lead
A sole party controlled between 50 percent and 79 percent of available LME tin inventories as of July 21, according to exchange figures. Two parties held between 30 percent and 39 percent of stockpiles as of the following day, the latest LME data show.
Aluminum rose 0.7 percent to $2,045 a ton. World inventories of unwrought metal shrank to 1.19 million tons in June from 1.3 million tons in May, the International Aluminium Institute said in a report.
Lead was little changed at $1,978 a ton, nickel climbed 1 percent to $20,560 a ton and zinc added 0.9 percent to $1,923 a ton.