By Claudia Carpenter Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose in New York and London on speculation prices are low enough to spur imports by China, the world’s largest buyer of the metal. Inventories of copper in Asian warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange dropped for a 12th consecutive day today, the longest decline since May. Prices for copper in Shanghai are about 5 percent more expensive than on the London Metal Exchange, after taxes, according to Macquarie Group Ltd. “Chinese demand is still strong,” said Colin Hamilton, an analyst at Macquarie in London. “It’s cheaper to buy London.” Copper futures for March delivery increased 1.6 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $2.835 a pound at 8:17 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper for delivery in three months rose 1.4 percent to $6,365 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. In Shanghai, copper futures for May delivery climbed 1.5 percent to 52,640 yuan ($7,711) a ton. Industrial demand growth in China last week helped to spur demand for iron ore, Macquarie said in a report today. Prices of copper dropped 16 percent during the past four weeks as the dollar climbed on speculation credit tightening in China and deficits in Greece, Portugal and Spain would slow growth. The dollar was little changed today. Aluminum jumped 1.1 percent to $2,001 a ton, lead increased 1.1 percent to $1,958 a ton and nickel added 0.4 percent to $17,120 a ton. Tin dropped 2.8 percent to $15,025 a ton. Zinc Climbs Zinc climbed 3.6 percent to $2,010 a ton. Zinc will probably average $2,750 a ton in 2011 as the market moves into a deficit after two years of surpluses, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch metals strategist Michael Widmer wrote in a report today. The average so far in 2010 is $2,353 a ton for the three-month zinc contract. Hedge funds and other large speculators maintained their “net-long,” or bets on higher New York copper futures, this month, U.S. government figures show. The net long was 18,272 contracts on Feb. 2, down from 28,770 contracts a week earlier, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Feb. 5. --With assistance from Simone Meier and Mark Deen in Iqaluit, Canada. Editors: Stuart Wallace, Dan Weeks To contact the reporter on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at +44-20-7330-7304 or ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at +44-20-7673-2388 or swallace6@bloomberg.net

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