Copper rises on hopes of Fed's helping hand

LONDON: Copper rose to its highest since early August as investors saw a rise in US jobless claims as falling short of signalling a fresh recession, and on optimism that the Federal Reserve stands ready to support the ailing economy.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed at $9,030 per tonne, after hitting $9,075, its highest since Aug. 8 and breaching $9,000 for the first time in a week. It closed at $8,875 on Wednesday.

Initial claims for state jobless benefits rose last week, inflated by striking workers at telecoms company Verizon. While the level suggests the job market is still having trouble gaining momentum, it falls well short of a recession signal.

"Throughout the day we've seen prices move higher, particularly this afternoon as the US came in. So there doesn't seem to have been a particularly negative reaction to that data," Gayle Berry, an analyst at Barclays Capital, said.

"We saw a bounce in sentiment yesterday with the durable goods orders. That tells us that the fillip in sentiment has been enough to take us higher."

Data on Wednesday showed new orders for US durable goods surged last month on strong demand for transportation equipment, easing fears that the world's largest economy will sink into recession.

"Because the market has wound itself into a bearish ball it means that any data that comes in slightly better than expected is received well," Berry said.

Still, the metal used in building construction, wiring and power cables remains 11 percent below a record high $10,190 a tonne hit in February.

"There's still this expectation that China is going to surge in and buy lots of metal -- but we haven't seen much buying this week," analyst David Wilson of Societe Generale said.

"The macro picture is no consumption growth in Europe and stalling growth in the US If I was a Chinese trader, I would be thinking prices should be going lower," he added.

China accounts for nearly 40 percent of global copper demand, estimated at around 19 million tonnes. Latest data suggest that although the country's pace of economic growth is cooling slightly, it is still expanding robustly.

Highlighting the strength in demand for commodities, trading giant Glencore posted a 50 percent rise in first-half profit despite tough trading markets and said it saw potential opportunities emerging from current market turbulence.

WARY

Investors are still wary ahead of an address by Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday. Many are optimistic he will signal the Bank is ready to support the US's ailing economy if necessary.

"The equity markets seem to be pricing in some form of relief from the Fed, so a complete rejection of further stimulus will likely be taken as a negative by all markets," RBC Capital said in a note.

World stocks fell and the dollar rose against a basket of currencies as Bernanke's speech drew closer. A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the unit less attractive to holders of other currencies.

Three-month lead closed at $2,401 a tonne from $2,348 on Wednesday, tin was $23,400 from $23,250. Aluminium closed at $2,361 from $2,364 and nickel at $20,875 from $20,825.

Zinc , untraded at the close, was bid at $2,228 from $2,177.50.

Copyright Reuters, 2011