Copper Prices Rise Sharply

Copper prices rallied sharply Friday on the Commodity Exchange in New York following a report that a date had been set to resume tin trading in London.

The report that the London Metals Exchange would reopen tin trading on Nov. 18 set off a round of buying, particularly by merchants who handle physical copper, said Bill O’Neill, director of research in New York with Rudolf Wolff Futures.

Analysts had been avoiding the metals markets since the LME halted trading in tin on Oct. 24 because of concern that a collapse of tin prices could set off a round of selling in other metals.

“It gave some new optimism to the market that there is a solution somewhere down the line,” O’Neill said.

Copper buyers in New York also were encouraged by the strength of the British pound against the dollar, O’Neill said.

Precious metals prices also were higher, both in response to the tin announcement and to the strength of European currencies against the dollar, O’Neill said.

Corn futures prices were higher and wheat and soybeans were mixed on the Chicago Board of Trade. Livestock and meat prices were mostly lower on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.