US Copper Sets 4-month Closing High on Strong Data

NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) –

U.S. copper surged to a more
than four-month high on Wednesday and held near that lofty
level to the close, propelled by robust manufacturing data in
the United States and China, soaring shares and a weak dollar.
 
 
Benchmark copper for December delivery HGZ0 closed
10.75 cents, or 3.19 percent, higher at $3.4775 per lb on the
COMEX metals division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
 
December's range spanned from $3.3735 to $3.4860, a level
last seen on April 27.
 
Copper for September delivery HGU0 shot up 10.75 cents,
or 3.20 percent, to end at $3.4685 per lb.
 
September copper soared to a high dating to April 27 at
$3.4765, from a low at $3.3710 a lb.
 
Both contracts set their highest close since April 26.
 
COMEX estimated final copper futures volume at 33,576
lots.
 
Open interest was down 3,524 lots at 134,206 contracts as
of Aug. 31.
 
Copper began its rally overnight when China released its
official purchasing managers' index (PMI), which rose to 51.7
in August from 51.2 in July.
 
The new orders component rose to 53.1 from 50.9 and was
seen as especially supportive.

Later, in the United States, the Institute for Supply
Management's index of national factory activity rose to 56.3 in
August from 55.5 in July, above expectations for a 53.0
reading.

The ISM index helped investors shrug off a separate
report showing U.S. private employers unexpectedly cut 10,000
jobs in August.
 
Contributing to copper's strong gains was a report that
Australia's economy grew at its fastest pace in three years in
the last quarter.
 
The reports helped drive Wall Street stocks up more than
2 percent [.N], which fed back into copper's gains.
 
The U.S. dollar declined against major currencies after
the raft of upbeat data soothed worries about the health of the
global economy, boosting investors' appetite for industrial
assets like copper. [USD/]
 
The gains won on the improved economic readings sent
copper up through technical resistance above $3.41 a lb,
triggering stop-loss buy orders - traders.
 
London Metal Exchange (LME) copper warehouse stocks were
down 1,575 tonnes on Tuesday at 398,525 tonnes.
 
Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange
finished sharply higher at $7,606 per tonne, from $7,440, at
the previous close.