COMMODITIES : Copper Futures Set Records as Supplies Tighten

Copper futures prices hit all-time highs Monday on New York’s Commodity Exchange as demand for tight supplies of the metal intensified.

On other markets, platinum futures surged while gold and silver were mixed; energy futures fell; grains and soybeans advanced; livestock and meat were mixed, and stock index futures retreated.

The thinly traded contract for November delivery of copper reached $1.4775 a pound, well above the 1 1/2-week-old record Comex high of $1.465, and settled at $1.4740, 2.95 cents higher than Friday’s final price. December copper finished at $1.4115, up 1.45 cents.

Analysts said buying was prompted in part by the London Metal Exchange’s report of a 9,200-metric-ton drop in its warehouse supplies of copper last week.

The market had expected a decline of 5,000 to 7,000 metric tons.

Meanwhile, a miners strike in Peru ended its second week on Monday, increasing concerns that supply problems could persist into next year.

“The Peruvian situation is getting more critical every day,” said William O’Neill, director of research with Elders Futures Inc. in New York.

Meanwhile user demand for copper in the United States remained “very strong,” dispelling any fears that last week’s price decline signified a new trend in the market.

“We’re seeing both supply and demand developments that are bullish for the market,” O’Neill said.

“We had a nice little technical consolidation last week and now it’s roaring back on a very constructive set of fundamentals,” he added.

Platinum futures posted strong gains on the New York Mercantile Exchange, partly in response to news of an agreement among 12 Western European nations to strengthen their pollution restrictions, analysts said.

Markets Quiet

Platinum is a key element in many automobile and industrial pollution-control systems.

The Comex gold and silver markets were fairly quiet, reflecting the negative price impact of the stronger dollar and the weaker energy market, analysts said.

Gold settled 20 cents lower to 20 cents higher, with the contract for delivery in December at $415.10 an ounce; silver was 1.3 to 1.4 cents higher, with December at $6.348 an ounce. Platinum was $4.80 to $6.80 higher, with January at $550.60 an ounce.

Crude oil futures fell on the New York Merc following reports that Saudi Arabia was prepared to dump huge quantities of oil onto the market unless Iran and Iraq put aside their differences and join other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in an agreement to curb their oil exports, said Nauman Barakat, vice president of energy investments with Prudential-Bache Securities Inc. in New York.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled 27 to 43 cents lower, with December at $13.58 a barrel; heating oil was 0.20 cent to 0.84 cent lower, with November at 42.62 cents a gallon, and unleaded gasoline was 1.52 cents lower to 0.14 cent higher, with November at 50.24 cents a gallon.

Live cattle gained sharply in a technically inspired rally while feeder cattle were mixed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Hogs were mixed on spillover buying from the cattle pits and selling stemming from weaker cash markets, analysts said.

Live cattle were unchanged to 0.77 cent higher, with December at 74.17 cents a pound; feeder cattle were 0.40 cent lower to 0.22 cent higher, with November at 82.02 cents a pound; hogs were 0.10 cent lower to 0.30 cent higher, with December at 41.15 cents a pound, and frozen pork bellies were 0.07 cent to 0.48 cent lower, with February at 46.52 cents a pound.

Grain Prices Advance

Grain and soybean futures finished mostly higher on the Chicago Board of Trade, reflecting positive chart signals and expectations of a rise in demand.

Wheat settled 3.75 to 5.75 cents higher, with December at $4.1575 a bushel; corn was 2 cents lower to 3.5 cents higher, with December at $2.82.25 a bushel; oats were 0.75 cent to 2 cents higher, with December at $2.36 a bushel, and soybeans were 5.25 cents lower to 8.5 cents higher, with November at $7.765 a bushel.

Stock index futures fell modestly on the Chicago Merc, where the contract for December delivery of the Standard & Poor’s 500 settled 0.45 point lower at 279.10.