By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose in London on speculation that demand in China and the U.S., the world’s largest users of the metal, will strengthen. Sales of U.S. existing homes in November rose to the highest level in almost three years, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed yesterday. China’s imports of the metal rose 15 percent in November compared with October. “Economic data support expectations that demand growth will continue into next year,” Nicholas Snowdon, a commodity analyst at Barclays Capital, said today by phone from London. “On top of that, we have mine supply disruptions in copper.” Copper for three-month delivery added $49, or 0.7 percent, to $6,930 a metric ton at 10:08 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. The contract advanced 126 percent this year, its best performance in more than two decades. Futures for March delivery increased 0.4 percent to $3.1505 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex unit. The March contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 0.1 percent to 55,480 yuan ($8,125) a ton. Chinese prices usually include a 17 percent value added tax and import fee. Copper stockpiles monitored by the LME added 0.4 percent to 482,775 tons. Inventory has expanded for 37 consecutive days, the longest streak since 1999. Including stockpiles tracked by exchanges in Shanghai and New York, inventory increased 75 percent this year to 675,324 tons, the highest since February 2004, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Workers at Codelco’s Norte division in Chile rejected an improved wage offer from the world’s largest copper producer and threatened to strike. Codelco is trying to avoid a walkout at its biggest unit. There was a one-day blockade of the Chuquicamata mine by workers on Dec. 9. Among other LME metals for three-month delivery, aluminum increased 0.6 percent to $2,255 a ton and tin added 0.3 percent at $15,875 a ton. Zinc advanced 0.7 percent to $2,452 a ton. Lead rose 0.4 percent at $2,318 a ton. -- With assistance by Li Xiaowei in Shanghai, Bob Willis in Washington, Matt Craze and James Attwood in Santiago. Editors: Stuart Wallace, James Ludden To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in London at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net

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