Nickel and Copper are on the move again, Nickel up above $6.00 and Copper is above $2.00

CLOSING PRICES (SPOT)

Gold US$/troy ounce 953.70 -5.10

Silver US$/troy ounce 14.61 -0.15

Copper US$/lb 2.11 0.03

Lead US$/lb 0.65 0.01

Zinc US$/lb 0.67 0.00

Aluminum US$/lb 0.64 0.00

Nickel US$/lb 6.04 0.36

Oil West Texas US$/bbl 61.54 0.52

Nat Gas Henry Hub US$ mmbtu 3.35 -0.06

Nat.Gas AECO C C$/gigajoule 3.00 -0.42

.Copper surges near three-week high


LONDON - Copper hit a near three-week high on Wednesday, tracking a rise in equity markets as a jump in U.S. consumer confidence gave investors optimism that demand may improve should the economic downturn approach a bottom.

By 0930 GMT, copper for three month delivery on the London Metal Exchange climbed to $4,705 (U.S.) a tonne from $4,660 at the close on Tuesday and compared with a session high at $4,725.

U.S. consumer confidence soared in May to its highest level in eight months as the strain on the labour market showed some signs of easing, boosting investors' hopes of a bottoming for the U.S. economy.

The consumer confidence number ignited stock markets and dragged everything else with it.

"Anything that is being seen as vaguely positive pushes markets up," said David Wilson, director of metals research at Societe Generale. "We've definitely seen the bottom but my concern is whether we're seeing a sustainable recovery or just a re-stocking drive."

"We're seeing in terms of the fund side, positioning for the expectation of a sustained pick-up by the end of the year and next year, but it also means they've got to fund positions for quite a long period of time."

Signs of modest recovery in Japanese exports also helped buoy economic sentiment Prices of copper, used in power and construction have gained about 50 per cent this year as rises in cancelled warrants - material earmarked for delivery - have boost sentiment.

However, the stock drawdowns, which analysts believe to be Chinese stockpiling, seem to be running out of steam.

On Tuesday, cancelled warrants fell to 43,375 tonnes from 47,625 tonnes on May 22, but offering further support to the red metal, LME inventories fell 7,300 tonnes to 319,275 tonnes.

BHP Billiton voiced uncertainty about the sustainability of Chinese buying, saying it reflected stock-building as well as underlying demand and it was concerned China may have overbought.

Aluminum fell to $1,443 a tonne from $1,452.

The relentless rise in LME stocks continued, jumping 9,700 tonnes to a new record above 4.21 million tonnes.

Aluminum cancelled warrants were at 50,250 tonnes on May 26 compared with 47,725 tonnes on May 22.

"Aluminum stocks are still picking up on a daily basis," said Societe Generale's Mr. Wilson. "We're in for a period of significant volatility with a general sideways movement."

Used in transport and packaging, aluminium has come under pressure in recent months on downbeat data from auto makers.

Highlighting this, General Motors Corp has failed to persuade enough bondholders to accept a debt-for-equity swap, setting the stage for the largest-ever U.S. industrial bankruptcy within days. Steel making ingredient nickel traded at $13,725 from $13,400 but also touched a high of $13,900 - its highest level since Oct. 8. Zinc gained to $1,505 a tonne from $1,500.

On Tuesday, cancelled nickel warrants were 6,492 tonnes from 7,614 tonnes on May 22, while LME stocks fell 954 tonnes to 108,642 tonnes. In April, Chinese nickel imports hit a monthly record of 21,031 tonnes.

Nickel stocks have fallen sharply since late April, when they touched above 114,400 tonnes.

Analysts said nickel was buoyed by a slow trickle of re-stocking by Chinese steel mills, although speculative stockbuilding could also be a factor.

Battery material lead was at $1,457 from $1,445 and tin edged up to $13,984 from $13,600.

Worries about lead and tin supplies remain due to a dominant position controlling between 50 and 80 per cent of cash warrants on LME stocks.

"We expect the LME to continue trading on global risk sentiment, with more consolidation in the near term." said VTB Capital in a note.