July 26 LME comment: Copper futures closed lower, intraday trading sluggish

London, July 26 news, LME copper closed slightly lower on Tuesday, intraday trading was sluggish; investors digest the impact of the recent increase in inventories, worried that this is a sign of further increase in inventory. Three-month copper fell $12 to $3,450. The spot copper/three-month reverse price spread is 240/45 USD. On Tuesday, LME copper stocks increased by 1,300 tons, with a total stock of 26,850 tons. Copper stocks hit a 31-year low last week. Analysts and traders said that stock levels will continue to dominate the trend of copper prices. Traders said copper prices are still rising. A trader said, “I would not be surprised if the price of copper rose to 4,000 US dollars.” Cochilco, the Chilean government’s copper committee, raised the average copper price forecast for 2005 to 1.44-1.48 US$/lb on Tuesday, the previous estimate range was 1.33- $ 1.37. The organization predicts that the average copper price in 2006 will fall back to between 1.18-1.22 USD. It also expects that this year's copper production in Chile will be 5.504 million tons, and it will be 5.625 million tons in 2006. Dealers said that the quiet market sentiment reflected the slowdown in summer demand. Three-month aluminum fell by $9 to $1,825. Three-month lead fell by $7 to $823. Three-month nickel fell 50 US dollars to 14,100 US dollars. Three-month zinc advanced 2 US dollars to 1,215 US dollars. The three-month tin bullion closed at $7,040.