Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Copper, little changed in London today, may rise after manufacturing increased at the fastest pace in 17 months in China, the world’s biggest user of the metal. The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 54.3 from 54.0 in August, the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today in Beijing. The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for the country’s economic growth next year to 9 percent from 8.5 percent, citing the effect on domestic demand of 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) in emergency spending. “The Chinese PMI is still growing, but it is sitting at around 54 now,” Brock Salier, an analyst at Ambrian Partners Ltd. in London, said by phone. “It seems to have reached a steady state.” Copper for three-month delivery gained $1.50 to $6,160.50 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange at 10:09 a.m. local time. The contract rose as high as $6,195, the highest intraday price since Sept. 23, after adding 24 percent in the third quarter. December-delivery copper fell 0.6 percent to $2.8035 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. Salier predicted little change in copper prices for the rest of the year. “The minor base metals have still some catching up to do,” he said. National Day Holiday Chinese markets were closed because of the National Day holiday, lasting until Oct. 8. Record first-half copper imports into the country helped prices to double this year. Inbound shipments of refined metal fell in month-on-month terms in July and August. “The biggest concern is that demand from the Western world is not going to pick up enough to replace the end of the restocking cycle in China,” Salier said. While European orders for metal are about to pick up, “it is not a flood and it needs to replace a flood from China,” he said. The world economy will expand 3.1 percent in 2010, the IMF said, more than its July forecast of 2.5 percent, citing more than $2 trillion in stimulus packages and demand in Asia. Stockpiles of copper in warehouses monitored by the LME climbed for a second day to 346,050 tons, the highest since May 19, according to a daily exchange report. Luvata, the world’s largest maker of copper used in electrical systems for car engines, will restart idled capacity in Europe and the U.S. next year. “In the past month we have seen some strengthening in demand,” Bob Kickham, senior vice president of procurement, said yesterday. Among other LME metals for three-month delivery, tin fell 0.4 percent to $14,840 a ton. The so-called backwardation, the premium for nearby-delivery metal to the three-month contract, reached a one-week high yesterday of $695 a ton, indicating scarce supply. One holder controls about 80 percent to 89 percent of the 25,175 tons of available stockpiles monitored by the LME, according to exchange data from Sept. 28. Aluminum rose 0.2 percent to $1,894 a ton, and lead fell 0.6 percent to $2,270 a ton. Zinc shed 0.6 percent to $1,956.50 a ton, and nickel was unchanged at $17,895 a ton. To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Stablum in London at astablum@bloomberg.net

Source