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Comex warehouses unfazed by stagnant copper stocks

NEW YORK: Copper warehouse owners in the U.S. said they were not too worried about the lack of movement in Comex copper stocks which have remained unchanged for almost two weeks.

Some in the copper market are puzzled over why COMEX stocks have remained at 13,924 short tons for so long, while there have been dips in LME stocks at Long Beach and St Louis.

A Comex official confirmed there had been no change in the stock total for nearly two weeks.

Mae Bledsoe, president of Southwest Commodity Storage Inc, which operates a COMEX warehouse in San Manuel, said the domestic copper market has picked up and producers are shipping directly to customers, with no need to store surplus metal.

"This is somewhat of a surprise to the producers," Bledsoe said. Southwest Commodity Storage has two sister companies which operate similar warehouses in Tucson and Amarillo.

Norbert Neumann, president of Utah Commodity Storage, said the lack of arbitrage opportunities between the Comex and LME copper contracts lay behind the lack of red metal leaving COMEX warehouses.

"You cannot do anything about bringing business in or having it go out. The market influences us," Neumann said.

Earlier this year, COMEX warehouse operators switched their pricing policy in line with U.S. LME warehouses by loading the charges on those taking metal out.-Reuter