By Leia Michele Toovey- Exclusive to Copper Investing News

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On Tuesday, easing concerns over euro-zone debt spelled relief for copper, and the metal rallied for the second day in a row.  Most-active March copper rose 3.40 cents, of 1.17 per cent, to $2.9470 per pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The euro rose against the US dollar on Tuesday, on track for its best one-day gain since November, after reports of a possible European bailout for debt-strapped Greece.

The euro has fallen 9 per cent from a 15-month high of $1.5145 reached in late November over fears about fiscal problems in Greece, Portugal and Spain. Last week, concerns that Greece would default on its debt wrecked havoc on the European Markets.  As a result, the Reuters/Jeffries CRB Index of 19 raw materials slumped to the lowest since October.

The European Union Council will hold an economic crisis summit this Thursday, and will focus on a long term solution to stabilizing the regions’ economies.  The Euro received an additional boost as currency traders returned on Tuesday, attempting to book profits on short positions.   As the euro rose, the greenback slid, adding extra impetus to copper’s ascent.  Last week, the US dollar ascended in the fact of the euro’s tailspin. A strong greenback makes dollar based commodities such as copper, more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Copper prices fell to $6,225 last week, their lowest since October 19 last year and a loss of about 20 per cent since the year high of $7,796 a tonne on January 7. Stocks of copper in London Metal Exchange warehouses have fallen back in recent days to above 541,050 tonnes from 543,525 tonnes, the highest since February 2009, on January 29.

Company News

Power supplies to Zambia’s Lumwana and Kansanshi copper mines have been disrupted after an electricity-transmission tower collapsed on February 7.  Vandalism is being blamed for the tower collapse, which has halted production at the Kansanshi Mine owned by Canadian-based First Quantum Minerals. Output at Lumwana, owned by Australian Equinox Minerals, has not been affected because the company is relying on a diesel powered generator.  State-owned Zambia Electricity Supply Corp is working to restore power to the two mines.

No one knows exactly when power can be expected to return to the two mines.

Teck Resources, Canada’s largest base metals miner, announced on Monday a profit of C$411 million in the first quarter of 2009. The miner earned 70 Canadian cents a share in the quarter ended December 31. Analysts had anticipated on average, a profit of 65 Canadian cents a share. That compared with a loss of C$ 607 million, or C$ 1.28 a share in the fourth-quarter of 2008.

Total 2009 net earnings were $ 1.8 billion, or $ 3.42 per share, Don Lindsay, President and CEO said, “Our record revenues this year reflected strong performance across the company, including record production of copper at Quebrada Blanca and zinc at both Red Dog and Antamina. Including the application of the proceeds from the sale of an interest in the Waneta Dam of $825 million, we will have reduced our total debt by approximately $6.7 billion since we acquired the Fording coal assets in October, 2008. With our current cash balance of $1.3 billion, our net-debt to net-debt-plus-equity ratio is then expected to be approximately 26 per cent.”

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