Copper rose on Tuesday, supported by encouraging US consumer data and a bank merger in Greece that offered investors some good news from the eurozone, while a strike threat at the world's third largest copper mine underpinned sentiment. The most-active November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed 1 percent higher at 68,250 yuan per tonne, after rising 0.3 percent on Monday.
"This morning, some Chinese investors came in to take some big long positions in early trading. Later in the afternoon, with Shanghai equities down, sentiment in copper was a bit affected and copper pared some gains. Chinese investors have been buying on dips since then," said a Shanghai-based trader.