Commodities : Monday, Oct. 7, 1985 : Copper Prices Extend Rally

Copper prices continued to climb Monday on the Commodity Exchange in New York, extending a two-week rally.

The contract for delivery in December has advanced to 62.60 cents a pound from 58.50 cents on Sept. 20.

Analysts said the rally stems from the weakness of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies, particularly the British pound, and from a decline in the supplies stored in warehouses in the United States and London that are qualified for delivery against futures contracts.

“Copper has been benefiting from outside markets the last couple weeks,” said David L. Moison, a copper analyst in New York with Merrill Lunch Futures.

He said the announcement a week ago by the Group of Five industrialized nations that they would exert pressure on the U.S. dollar was a major factor.

Further, he said, the amount of copper in warehouses began declining Sept. 13 after increasing for the previous 18 weeks.

Demand statistics have been disappointing, however, and trends on price charts so far have failed to confirm that a long-term rally is under way, Moison said.