Copper prices may dip on ample supplies

Copper will likely drop in the fourth quarter, paring this year's 99-percent gain, because of ample supply, according to Nexans SA, the world's biggest maker of cables and wires.

Copper premiums, added to the price of metal on the London Metal Exchange and a signal of demand, have shrunk, Christian Velten-Jameson, Nexans' corporate vice-president of finance, treasury and metals, said in an interview. Stockpiles in warehouses monitored by the LME expanded 35 percent since July.

"If you look at the physical market I see pretty depressed prices over the coming months," Paris-based Velten-Jameson said. "Prices are likely to fall this year and part of next year. It really depends on when growth will pick up."