US MIDDAY: copper rises

Copper ended the first trading day of the new week on firmer footing early on Monday, buoyed by a softer dollar and output disruptions in Chile, the world's top producer. The Chilean production woes added a layer of support to the copper market, even as a barrage of negative reports in recent weeks suggested that the world's economic growth engines were cooling fast.
"Aside from the supply-side stories, last week was interesting in the fact that we had a whole lot of demand stories and the price held up very well," said Justin Lennon, analyst with Mitsui Bussan Commodities in New York. In New York, the July COMEX copper contract firmed 0.75 cent to settle at $4.1420 per lb.