Copper prices climbed more than 2 percent on Wednesday to their highest level in two weeks, shrugging off dismal US housing data and rallying in tandem with broader industrial commodity strength.
The prospect of reconstruction efforts in Japan following the country's largest-ever earthquake and subsequent tsunami and nuclear crisis, against a backdrop of tightening supplies, continued to keep some base metals buoyant, even as the economic impact from the disaster remained uncertain.
In New York, May copper jumped 11.55 cents, or 2.7 percent, to settle at $4.4285 per lb. Ralph Preston, futures analyst with HeritageWestFutures.com in San Diego, California, said the contract's breach of the 50-day moving average at $4.40 per lb was an indication that the market could have further technical momentum in the days ahead.