Copper gained in New York as stockpiles of

the metal monitored by the London Metal

Exchange fell the most in more than four months.

Copper stockpiles monitored by the LME dropped

for a third straight session, declining 5,625 metric

tons, or 1 percent, the most since Oct. 21, the

exchange said today in a report.

Copper futures for May delivery rose 0.55 cent, or

0.4 percent, to $1.544 a pound at 9:59 a.m. on the

New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. The

most-active contract climbed 7.4 percent last week,

the first gain in three.



Still, demand for the metal used in pipes and wires

may fall as the U.S. economy, the world’s biggest,

contracted at the steepest rate in more than 25 years

in the 2008 fourth quarter. In China, the biggest

user of the metal, manufacturing shrank for a seventh

month in February and Hong Kong’s exports tumbled 21.8

percent in January, the most in 50 years.


Dollar Strengthens

The dollar rose as investors sought refuge in the

world’s preferred reserve currency. Some investors

buy metals, such as copper, as an alternative to

holding stocks, bonds and currency.