The base metals were mixed on Thursday. Copper gained 3.41 cents from yesterday’s close to $1.5598/lb. Nickel lost 4.61 cents to finish at $4.4959/lb. Zinc fell one-third of a penny, ending at $0.5042/lb. Aluminum tacked on half a cent, closing at $0.5988/lb., while lead moved to $0.4708/lb., up three-quarters of a cent.

The price of copper rallied on Thursday amid hopes government assistance plans will help improve demand in the U.S. and China. The red metal rose to its best level in more than two weeks.

“As governments put more money toward infrastructure and into stimulus plans, it’s going to help out copper,” said Michael K. Smith, the president of T&K Futures & Options. “It seems like people are feeling better about the outlook for metals.”

“We’ve gotten some clarity on the plan to rescue banks and the plan to stimulate the economy and that’s given people some optimism,” said Michael Pento, the chief economist at Delta Global Advisors.

The metal has also gained this week on speculation that inventories may fall. The amount of copper scheduled to be taken out of warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange, known as canceled warrants, jumped to the highest in a year. LME stockpiles dropped 0.5% to 545,475 metric tons today.

Still, the weak economy will mean copper prices will continue to struggle “in the near term,” Pento said.

Source: Base Metals Mixed

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