By Anna Stablum Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose to the highest price this month in London as industrial production climbed in China, the world’s largest metals user, and machinery orders exceeded forecasts in Japan, the fourth biggest. China’s industrial production climbed 16.1 percent in October, the most since March 2008, the statistics bureau said today. Japanese orders gained more than twice the pace economists estimated in September, signaling that a recovery in the world’s second-largest economy may be sustained. “The data is showing strong growth in China,” Robin Bhar, an analyst at Credit Agricole SA’s Calyon unit in London, said by phone. “The Japanese numbers were better than expected so maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel.” Copper for three-month delivery rose $130, or 2 percent, to $6,660 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange at 9:40 a.m. local time, the highest price since Oct. 30. December-delivery copper gained 1.9 percent to $3.0185 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. The Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s performance, fell as much as 0.3 percent to its lowest level since August last year. A weaker U.S. currency makes dollar- priced metals cheaper to those with other monies. “The dollar is still a key driver and every time it dips, commodities rise in value,” Calyon’s Bhar said. Chinese Imports The metal has more than doubled this year, bolstered by a weaker dollar, down 8 percent this year, and record first-half imports by China. In October, imports of copper and products tumbled 34 percent compared with the previous month. Purchases fell to 263,109 tons last month, the customs office said today. “It just shows that appetite has waned a little bit,” Bhar said. “We are still holding way above the 200,000-ton level.” Stockpiles monitored by the LME are headed for an 18th weekly increase. Inventories of copper in LME-monitored warehouses rose 0.8 percent to 397,325 tons today, the highest level since May 6. “If you look at stocks you get a very bearish picture,” Bhar said. “But on the other hand supplies are tightening; there seem to be a lot of strike threats. Strike Vote Miners have stopped work at sites across North and South America this year in a bid to benefit from higher metals prices. In Chile, disruptions include a monthly strike at BHP Billiton Ltd.’s Spence copper mine. In Peru, Cia. Minera Antamina SA workers will hold a strike vote today after wage talks at the operator of the world’s largest combined copper and zinc mine broke down, union general secretary Francisco Marinas said. The mine produced 382,842 tons of zinc and 358,180 tons of copper last year, according to the Energy & Mines Ministry. Among other LME metals for three-month delivery, nickel rose 2.2 percent to $17,200 a ton. Vale SA, the world’s second-biggest nickel producer, intends to resume partial operations at the smelter at Sudbury amid a strike, Cory McPhee, Toronto-based spokesman, said yesterday. No talks with the strikers are planned. About 3,300 of almost 4,600 employees at Sudbury walked off the job July 13 after talks broke down over a labor contract, leading to the longest stoppage in Vale’s 67-year history. Aluminum gained 0.8 percent to $1,975 a ton, zinc rose 2 percent to $2,204.25 a ton and lead advanced 2.3 percent to $2,340 a ton. Tin added 0.5 percent to $14,900 a ton. To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Stablum in London at astablum@bloomberg.net

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