By Claudia Carpenter Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Copper jumped in New York and London as imports of metal into China, the world’s largest user, climbed for a second month and the dollar weakened. Inbound shipments of copper and copper products rose to 369,368 metric tons in December, the Customs General Administration said yesterday. That was up 27 percent from November and 29 percent higher than a year earlier, according to customs figures on Bloomberg. Record imports in last year’s first half helped copper prices to more than double in 2009. “China’s got an insatiable appetite for copper,” said David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in London. Imports “might stay strong” this year, he said. Copper for delivery in March climbed 8.75 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $3.488 a pound at 8:35 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex unit. Prices have increased 4.5 percent this year. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months added 2.8 percent to $7,670 a ton. All of the six main metals traded on the LME gained. The 15-company FTSE 350 Mining Index added as much as 3.1 percent, the most since Dec. 1, paced by copper producer Kazakhmys Plc. The dollar dropped to a three-week low against the euro, making metals priced in the greenback cheaper for holders of the single European currency. Import Arbitrage China probably bought metal in October and November, when prices averaged below $7,000 a ton, Citigroup’s Thurtell said. “People have been expecting imports to fall back considerably for many, many months,” he said. Chinese copper imports may rise further after prices in Shanghai climbed high enough above international levels to make inbound shipments attractive, according to Gayle Berry, an analyst at Barclays Capital in London. “With the reopening of import arbitrage in recent weeks, imports can be expected to rise further from December’s strong figure,” she said. Copper for immediate delivery, the best performer last year among contracts of that maturity, will average $7,137 a ton this year, according to the median of 23 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That would be 38 percent above last year’s average. Miners have done “very little” hedging against a drop in copper prices in recent weeks, Macquarie Group Ltd. said in a report today. That may stem partly from “substantial pressure” on publicly traded companies to refrain from hedging because investors want full exposure to metals prices, the bank said. Chinese Economy The dollar lost 2.6 percent against the euro last year, helping to boost copper prices along with expectations of a rebound from the world recession. China’s economy may grow as much as 16 percent this year with accelerating inflation and the risk of a property bubble, government researchers said today. “The data certainly suggests the world economy is well on its way to recovering,” said Shi Hai, an analyst at Shanghai Tonglian Futures Co. “The data has reaffirmed investors’ belief that China will continue to lead the rebound.” Inventories of copper in warehouses monitored by the LME rose for a 47th day to 515,200 tons, the highest since March, according to a daily exchange warehouse report today. Among other metals on the LME for delivery in three months, tin rose as high as $17,920 a ton, the highest price since September 2008, and was last at $17,850. Aluminum added 3.1 percent to $2,354 a ton, and zinc gained 2.8 percent to $2,592 a ton. Lead climbed 2.5 percent to $2,595 a ton, and nickel advanced 1.9 percent to $18,245 a ton. To contact the reporter on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

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