SHANGHAI: London copper rose to a four month-high on Friday, heading for a second weekly gain, after improving US data and successful bond sales by Spain and France tempered concerns over European funding worries.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 0.8 percent to $8,428.50 a tonne, its highest since Sept. 20, before trading at $8,394.25 by 0136 GMT. Prices have increased 4.9 percent this week.
The most-traded April copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange inched up 0.4 percent to 60,780 yuan ($9,600) a tonne. The exchange will be closed all of next week for the Lunar New Year holidays.
"The European bond auctions were really good, the Greek talks seem to be progressing, the US stock market has had its best January since 1987 so far, so it's all systems go for now," said Ed Meir, an analyst at INTL FCStone, a provider of advisory services in commodities, currencies and asset management.
"Till the next shoe drops. I don't think this euro seizure is over. It's going to hit us again in March, but between now and then we can move higher."
Spain sold more longer-term debt than expected, while France raised almost 9.5 billion euros in its first bond auctions since Standard & Poor's stripped the country of its AAA rating last week.
US jobless claims fell to near a four-year low last week, while inflation readings in December were tame. US single family housing starts, which account for a larger share of new
home construction, rose 4.4 percent.
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