Sep 3 (Bloomberg)--

Copper prices rose, heading for the biggest weekly gain in a month, after payroll data in the U.S., copper’s second largest user, eased concern that the economic recovery is faltering.

Private payrolls that exclude government agencies climbed 67,000 in August, Labor Department figures showed. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a gain of 40,000. Before today, copper advanced 14 percent since June 1 as inventories dropped.

"Copper is following the employment report,” said Lannie Cohen, the president of Capitol Commodity Services in Indianapolis. “We finally got some good news. Copper is on the heels of a potential rally.”

Copper futures for December delivery climbed 1.25 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $3.508 a pound at 10:24 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the industrial metal reached $3.5345, the highest level for a most-active contract since April 27. The price has gained 3.6 percent this week, heading for the biggest increase since late July.

Prices may reach $3.65 in a month or two, Cohen said. “This rally can be sustained” in the absence of “a meltdown in stock markets,” he said.

On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months added $55, or 0.7 percent, to $7,690 a metric ton ($3.49 a pound). Aluminum, lead and nickel also climbed. Tin and zinc fell.