Copper prices gain on US retail sales data

Copper prices were up Tuesday, helped by new data from the US showing that retail sales there were up 2.7 percent in August from July’s levels, more of a gain than had been anticipated.

The higher sales were seen as an indication that the economy is rebounding, bringing hopes that demand for copper and other metals will grow as well.

December copper was up 4 cents to $2.85 per pound in New York, while three-month copper added $61.25 to $6,201.25 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

An analyst report forecast that demand for the metal used in construction and manufacturing will exceed demand next year, but inventories in LME warehouses were up again today and have grown by 26 percent just since mid-July.

Other LME base metals were also up on the session.

Precious metals prices were also up on the session as December gold added $5.20 to $1,006.30 per troy ounce in New York trade while December silver was up 38 cents to $17 per troy ounce and October platinum gained 60 cents to $1,333.40 per troy ounce.

An economic analyst said at a meeting in Denver that the price of gold could average $1,116 per troy ounce next year, and that in the event of a geopolitical crisis of some sort gold prices could go even higher.