COMEX copper rose Thursday morning on bargain hunting after a previous speculator-led rout, as fears of sharply lower Chinese metal demand eased and players digested mixed US economic data, dealers said.
First-quarter US growth was less robust than expected, but the net result of the government's report was a dip in the dollar that propped up copper after its roughly 5 percent plunge to 2-1/2 month lows on Wednesday.
"We're seeing bargain hunting as copper was off about 9 cents since Monday, and traders feel it's going to be hard to cool the red-hot Chinese economy," a COMEX floor trader said. "The dollar coming off and the steady euro also supported us."
Most active July futures at 10:19 am EDT (1419 GMT) gained 1.65 cents to $1.1925 a lb, within a $1.1650 to $1.1940 range.
Spot May copper was up 1.50 cents at $1.1925, dealing between $1.1625-$1.1920. Friday is first notice day for May delivery.
The back months rose 1.15 to 3.30 cents. Estimated volume was 4,000 lots at 9:00 am, he said.