View the full XTA chart at Wikinvest

(Reuters) – Chinese copper demand will grow a little under 7 pct this year and more positive signs of U.S. demand will help offset the impact of lingering European economic woes, the head of Xstrata’s (XTA.L) copper unit Charlie Sartain said on Tuesday.

“We see an underlying strength in (copper) demand growth in China,” Sartain told Reuters in an interview at the CRU copper conference in Santiago.

“We see some positive demand signs in the U.S. … That’s helping to offset the difficulties Europe is having.”

The miner expects to see its own red metal output dip slightly in the first half of the year, as the world No. 3 copper mine Collahuasi, which it owns with Anglo American (AAL.L), battles declining ore grades and freak weather, he added.

But production will pick up in the second part of 2012, and full-year output will be similar to last year’s, Sartain said.

Xstrata’s total mined copper production last year fell almost 3 percent to 888,979 metric tonnes (979,931 tons).

Regarding Argentina’s decision to expropriate Repsol’s (REP.MC), controlling share of the country’s leading energy company YPF (YPFD.BA), Sartain said the move was “worrying” for foreign investors.

Xstrata holds a 50 percent controlling stake in the Alumbrera mine in Argentina.

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer and Fabian Cambero. Writing by Anthony Esposito;editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)

SOURCE: Reuters

By Agnieszka Troszkiewicz
April 11, 2012 6:22 AM EDT

Passenger-car sales rose 4.5 percent in March, figures from a Chinese industry group showed today. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted a 3.9 percent increase. Japanese bookings climbed 4.8 percent, according to a Cabinet Office report, more than all economists predicted. Copper slumped 4 percent by the close yesterday in London.

“It’s very much a day of consolidation,” William Adams, an analyst at Basemetals.com in London, said by phone. “Copper broke yesterday below important support levels.”

Copper for three-month delivery added 0.8 percent to $8,095 a metric ton by 11:06 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Prices are below the 200-day moving average. The May-delivery contract rose 0.5 percent to $3.667 a pound on the Comex in New York.

The Copper Development Association says even a small car contains 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of the metal. World demand will likely exceed output by 300,000 tons this year before a 250,000-ton surplus in 2013, BNP Paribas SA estimates.

“The period of deficit comes to an end this year,” Stephen Briggs, an analyst at BNP Paribas in London, said by phone. “When sentiment about the economy is bad, copper is particularly exposed because it’s the one metal where the price is way above the costs of production.”

Antofagasta Plc, which has three Chilean copper mines, last month predicted weighted average cash costs of about $1.05 a pound for this year.

Aluminum for three-month delivery advanced 1.1 percent to $2,088 a ton. Alcoa Inc. (AA), the largest U.S. producer, yesterday reported an unexpected first-quarter profit after orders rose and it closed higher-cost smelting capacity.

Tin climbed 0.1 percent to $22,775 a ton. Prices erased a drop of as much as 1.5 percent after Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of the metal, was hit by an earthquake.

Zinc rose 0.2 percent to $1,994 a ton and nickel fell 0.4 percent to $18,100 a ton. Lead was unchanged at $2,018 a ton.

To contact the reporter on this story: Agnieszka Troszkiewicz in London at atroszkiewic@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

SOURCE: Bloomberg

(Reuters) – London copper climbed on Friday, on track for a more than 10 percent first-quarter gain, although an early advance this year has been pinned back by sluggish demand growth in top consumer China.

Copper prices logged a strong start to the week, rallying more than 2 percent on Monday in line with stock markets, on the prospect of protracted easy monetary policy in the United States.

Prices have, however, largely run out of steam as profits are booked ahead of quarter-end and ahead of economic indicators that may shed fresh light on the health of China’s manufacturing sector.

“This week copper has been highly correlated with equity markets, so even if prices can rebound on China’s official PMI data, I think it will be capped, maybe around $8,600 per tonne,” said Bonnie Liu, a Macquarie analyst in Shanghai.

“The seasonal recovery is definitely on the way, but the strength of the recovery is still in question and sending mixed messages to the market.”

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed 0.56 percent to $8,397 per metriv tonne (1.1023 tons) by 0523 GMT (01.23 a.m. EDT) having traded flat in the previous session, and was set to close almost unchanged on the week. Traders said gains on Friday were boosted by short-covering.

Copper is on target to notch up gains of more than 10 percent for the first quarter, but has so far failed to find traction above $8,700 per tonne and remains more than 17 percent below a record high of $10,190 from the first quarter of last year.

The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 0.45 percent to 60,030 yuan ($9,500) a tonne.

Signs of slowing growth in China, the worlds’ top consumer of base metals, emerged mid-month with an early manufacturing sector indicator, HSBC flash PMI which showed factory activity shrank for the fifth straight month.

China accounted for about 40 percent of refined copper demand last year. China’s official manufacturing PMI, and the final reading for March are due on Sunday.

China’s official PMI, which previews the country’s giant factory sector before official industrial production data, may have dipped to 50.8 in March from a four-month high of 51.0 in February.

“Expectations for more weakness ahead is weighing on sentiment. Hence, the release of the Chinese PMI over the weekend will be a key event risk for near-term direction. If the index remains above 50, we could see some stabilization in sentiment,” Credit Suisse said in a research note.

Chinese markets will be closed from Monday April 2- Wednesday April 4.

SUPPORTIVE STANCE

Asian shares steadied on Friday as the region’s benchmark indices marked their best first quarter in over 20 years and investors awaited a meeting on a possible euro zone firewall and Chinese data that may dictate market trends in coming months.

Expectations of an extended period of easy monetary policy in the United States also underpinned copper this week.

The Federal Reserve’s current policy of ultra-low interest rates is adequate given moderate U.S. economic growth and manageable inflation, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said on Thursday.

Elsewhere in metals, Doe Run declared a force majeure on lead output from the United States’ sole primary producer in Herculaneum, Missouri, following a fire last week that will stop production for up to six weeks.

Front month ShFE lead prices began trading at a premium against third month prices this week, on improving battery sector demand from the auto and electric bicycle industries in China.

LME tin prices chalked up the largest advance, rallying 1.32 percent to $23,000 a tonne as prices pushed through the 200 day moving average (DMA), triggering chart-based buys.

PRICES

Base metals prices at 0523 GMT

Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg

LME Cu 8397.00 47.00 +0.56 10.49

SHFE CU FUT JUN2 60030 270 +0.45 8.44

HG COPPER MAY2 381.10 1.45 +0.38 10.91

LME Alum 2145.25 10.25 +0.48 6.20

SHFE AL FUT JUN2 16165 -05 -0.03 2.02

LME Zinc 2010.00 5.00 +0.25 8.94

SHFE ZN FUT JUN2 15425 85 +0.55 4.26

LME Nickel 17330.00 180.00 +1.05 -7.38

LME Lead 2000.75 5.75 +0.29 -1.68

SHFE PB FUT 15490.00 105.00 +0.68 1.34

LME Tin 23000.00 300.00 +1.32 19.79

LME/Shanghai arb^ 1942

Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months

($1 = 6.3060 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Chris Lewis and Sugita Katyal)

SOURCE: Reuters

Copper rallied Friday after the housing market shows more signs of improvement, which offered investors hope that demand may be strengthening for the industrial metal.

The Commerce Department said sales of new homes fell nearly 1 percent in January but revised figures for the last three months of 2011 showed sales were stronger than expected. In addition, The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that sales of previously occupied homes were at their highest level since May 2010.

Investors were also encouraged by reports that inventories have declined in Chinese warehouses, said George Gero, vice president at RBC Global Futures in New York. The world’s second-largest economy is a huge importer of copper, which is used in everything from infrastructure and housing to consumer products.

Gero said that there also are expectations demand will pick up as infrastructure projects get under way during the next few months in Asia, Europe and the United States.

Copper for March delivery rose 5.7 cents to finish at $3.863 per pound. The price is up about 12 percent for the year.

Other commodities were mixed ahead of a weekend meeting of the finance ministers from the world’s 20 leading economies. The G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors will focus on economic growth but Europe’s debt crisis likely will be a priority topic.

Gold for April delivery fell $9.90 to finish at $1,776.40 an ounce as investors took profits after this week’s gains. In March contracts, silver fell 21.8 cents to end at $35.338 per ounce and palladium ended down $7.65 at $710.75 per ounce. April platinum decreased $7.90 to finish at $1,715.10 an ounce.

Oil prices continued to climb on supply concerns because of the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. The European Union and the United States are using sanctions against Iran because they fear the country is developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the charge.

Benchmark oil rose $1.94 to finish at $109.77 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Heating oil increased 2.3 cents to finish at $3.313 per gallon, gasoline futures rose 3.67 cents to $3.3247 per gallon and natural gas fell 7.1 cents to $2.55 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In March agriculture contracts, wheat prices rose 0.25 cent to end at $6.4125 per bushel, corn increased 1.5 cents to $6.44 per bushel and soybeans ended up 3.25 cents at $12.8675 per bushel.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SOURCE: Washington Post

View the full BCS chart at Wikinvest

Investment bank Barclays Capital expects demand growth for metals to recover in the second half this year, with copper prices to rise by around 10% from current levels, while gold prices are projected to climb above $2,000 an ounce by the third quarter.

In its 2012 outlook for metals, Barcap said it expects the slowdown in metals demand growth to stabilize early this year and recovery to begin in the second quarter.

It forecasts copper prices to average $9,000 a ton this year, although the projection is 11% lower than its previous forecasts for 2012, following a weaker-than-expected end to 2011.

Copper prices fell by around 21% last year, its first annual drop since 2008, as an uncertain global economic outlook raised fears about the metal’s demand prospects.

“Our economists are expecting the European situation to continue stabilizing, for China to engineer a soft landing and for the United States to be pretty strong this year. So we’re working with quite a positive economic scenario,” Barcap analyst Gayle Berry told Reuters.

“(But) what we’re not expecting is the kind of recovery in demand that we saw in 2009/2010 because there are just too many headwinds for that kind of scale of recovery,” she added.

For gold, Barcap sees the precious metal hitting $2,030 an ounce by the third quarter, with a 2012 average price of $1,875 an ounce, propelled by central bank appetite, uncertainty surrounding financial markets and longer-term inflationary pressure.

For all metals, apart from tin, Barcap forecasts supply growth of more than 3%, which in the case of copper is a marked strengthening from recent years, the bank said.
It remains positive on copper prices this year despite stronger supply and subdued global consumption growth, due to a projected market deficit of 363,000 tons.

“We are positive on copper prices because although it’s a better year for supply, we see a market that is in deficit,” Berry said.

However she said a pronounced slowdown in Chinese residential construction is among the biggest downside risks to the upbeat view on copper.

SOURCE: Latinomineria

–Comex March copper settles up 2.2 cents, or 0.6%, at $3.8295 a pound

–Dollar reverses gains, lifting commodities after Federal Reserve statement

–Low interest-rate outlook boosts Fed stimulus hopes, commodity-demand view

By Matt Day
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Copper futures edged higher Wednesday, settling at the highest price in more than four months as the Federal Reserve’s forecast for low interest rates into 2014 stoked investor demand for commodities.

The most-actively traded copper contract, for March delivery, rose 2.2 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $3.8295 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement price since Sept. 16.

The Federal Reserve’s policy-making committee said Wednesday that it expected short-term interest rates to stay close to zero “at least through late 2014,” an outcome that could accelerate growth in the U.S. economy.

Some market participants viewed the statement as increasing the chance of further steps by the central bank to prop up the economy, said Frank Lesh, a broker and analyst with FuturePath Trading. “For the moment, Europe is stable, though things can change quickly. There is a potential for more [quantitative easing] now after this statement than there was this morning.”

Copper is sensitive to such outlooks because of its widespread uses in construction and manufacturing, and low interest rates can make holding copper and other commodities more appealing compared with interest-bearing assets.

Also Wednesday, crude oil gained, and gold vaulted above the $1,700 an ounce mark for the first time in six weeks.

The commodities market gains were also fueled by the dollar falling after the Federal Reserve statement. A weaker dollar can boost dollar-denominated copper and other commodities by making the futures appear cheaper for buyers using other currencies.

Despite lingering economic gloom in Europe, the copper market has gained upward momentum in recent weeks, touching a series of multimonth highs. Chinese buyers have returned to the market to take advantage of the dip in copper prices from last year’s record highs, analysts say, lending support to prices.

“The market has been holding up brilliantly,” said Bill O’Neill, a principal with commodities consultancy Logic Advisors.

-By Matt Day, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-4986; matt.day@dowjones.com

–Tatyana Shumsky contributed to this article.

SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Online

NEW YORK (Commodity Online): As LME Copper prices tumbled to lows of $7000/tonne, uncertainty is the trend of the market.

On the supply-demand side, copper market may be in a deficit of 200,000 tonnes in 2012 and prices could average $9850/tonne next year.

Supply

-Mines face prospects of increased worker’s strikes which could severely curtail production. This has been evident in recent strikes at Escondida and Freeport mines. Output has also suffered from snowstorms and other bad weather.

-Lack of investment has caused deterioration in Ore grades in Chile. Mining companies are therefore contemplating on significant investments in order to sustain, if not increase the output in coming years. Codelco plans to invest around $17 billion over 2011-2015.

-In Peru, tension between mining companies and workers has been growing. So has the relationship between the miners and the community. President Olanta Humalla has also imposed an additional $1 billion levies on mining companies.

Demand

-US Copper demand has been relatively unchanged for the year as compared to 2010.

-Demand from EU is expected to deteriorate during second half of the year. However, for the year as a whole, demand will be relatively flat.

-Japanese copper demand may continue to remain high as reconstruction drive post the March earthquake continues.

-Chinese demand picture is uncertain at the moment. Chinese base metal industry has undergone a significant destocking this year, particularly due to increasing monetary tightening combined with an uncertain economic outlook. Imports of copper in August increased to their highest level this year, and are expected to rise further in the coming months.

Price Forecast

Copper prices may hit $10,000/ tonne next year. However, prices are expected to average $9850/tonne for the year.

Source: NCM metals Review

Copper rose almost two per cent on Monday as the euro rose against the US dollar on signs Greece may be close to a deal to restructure its debt, giving hopes that the euro zone sovreign debt crisis might be contained.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed at $US8,365 a tonne, 1.7 per cent up from a close of $US8,225 on Friday.

Copper touched a four-month high of $US8,428.50 on Friday and has gained around nine per cent in the year to date.

Trade in Asia was extremely slow, with many markets including top consumer China closed for the Lunar New Year break, and volumes during European trading hours were also quite low.

“The market remains in a risk-on mode with bond yields continuing to fall and a favourable euro/dollar exchange,” said T-commodity consultant Gianclaudio Torlizzi.

“However, I remain quite a sceptic when it comes to further gains for the week ahead as open interest is falling and fundamentals are not bullish.”

Open interest, an indication of players’ activity, has declined lately, data shows.

A weaker US dollar against the euro and falling Italian bond yields helped to lift market sentiment.

Italian government bond yields fell, with traders citing European Central Bank buying of short-dated Italian bonds in the secondary market. The euro hit its highest level in nearly three weeks against the US dollar on tentative optimism that Greece will cut a deal with its creditors on a debt swap.

A weaker US unit makes dollar-priced commodities more affordable for holders of other currencies.

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said the euro zone economy was showing signs of stabilisation and that a deal with private sector investors about resolving Greece’s debt crisis was taking shape.

Some fundamentals for copper remained positive. The latest data showed copper inventories in LME warehouses, which are seen as indicators of demand strength, fell by 2,975 tonnes to 345,775, their lowest point since early October 2009.

Also helping the metal used in power and construction, weekend data showed China’s refined copper imports rose 18.3 per cent in December from the previous month to a record high 406,937 tonnes.

But, copper inventories in warehouses overseen by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 9.3 per cent, or 11,193 tonnes, to 131,645 tonnes last week, the highest since April 2011.

“Futures curves of industrial metals at the Shanghai Futures Exchange have fallen into contango. The price differential between Chinese prices and London prices has narrowed. This indicates that the Chinese market is now adequately supplied,” said Credit Suisse in a note.

“How much of this is due to simple re-stocking ahead of the Chinese New Year and how much is because of weaker demand remains to be seen. The concern is that most of this might be due to demand weakness.”

Soldering metal tin, the best performing LME metal this month, closed at $US22,150 a tonne from $US21,850, while zinc, used in galvanising, ended at $US2,059 from $US2,012.

Battery material lead finished $US2,244 a tonne from $US2,184, and aluminium at $US2,238 from $US2,215.

Stainless-steel ingredient nickel closed at $US20,305 from $US20,450.

Click Here to view entire article

SOURCE: 9news

By Claudia Carpenter

Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities climbed 1 percent at 658.29 at 4:57 p.m. in London. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of 26 raw materials was up 1.3 percent at 1,562.432.

BASE METALS

Copper rose to the highest price in almost four months in New York as stronger-than-estimated economic growth in China bolstered demand prospects and Rio Tinto Group said its production of the metal fell, underlining threats to supply. a report today.

Copper for March delivery gained 2.7 percent to $3.734 a pound on the Comex in New York. Prices reached $3.759, the highest level for a most-active contract since Sept. 21. Copper for three-month delivery rose 1.5 percent to $8,210 a ton on the LME.

Aluminum, zinc, lead, nickel and tin advanced in London.

Base metals markets: NI BMMKTS

SOFT COMMODITIES

Coffee futures fell to a one-week low in New York on signs that global production will increase. Cocoa also dropped, and sugar rose.

Arabica coffee for March delivery fell 1.2 percent to $2.2255 a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Earlier, the price touched $2.211, the lowest for a most-active contract since Jan. 9.

Cocoa futures for March delivery slipped 0.3 percent to $2,262 a metric ton in New York.

Raw-sugar futures for March delivery advanced 0.3 percent to 23.9 cents a pound.

In London futures trading, robusta coffee fell, while refined sugar and cocoa rose.

Soft commodities markets: NI SOMKTS

GRAINS, OILSEEDS

Wheat futures rose on speculation that demand will increase for supplies from the U.S., the world’s biggest exporter, as the dollar declines and dry weather threatens crops in South America.

Wheat futures for March delivery rose 0.1 percent to $6.03 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. The price slid 3.6 percent last week after the U.S. government projected bigger- than-expected domestic and global supplies.

Soybeans and corn rose for the first time in a week as warm, dry weather returned to parts of South America, threatening crops that compete with supplies from the U.S., the world’s largest producer.

Soybean futures for March delivery rose 1.2 percent to $11.7175 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices fell 3.2 percent last week on speculation that rain may increase South America output.

Corn futures for March delivery rose 0.9 percent to $6.0475 a bushel in Chicago, after rallying as much as 2 percent. Most- active futures dropped 6.8 percent last week, the biggest gain since the end of September.

Grain markets: NI GRMKTS

PRECIOUS METALS

Gold futures rose to a five-week high on mounting speculation that China will ease monetary policy, while the dollar’s decline boosted the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative asset. Silver also advanced.

Gold futures for February delivery advanced 1.8 percent to $1,660.50 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the metal reached $1,668, the highest for a most-active contract since Dec. 13.

Silver futures for March delivery rose 2.8 percent to $30.345 an ounce in New York. The metal gained 2.9 percent last week.

Precious metal markets: NI PCMKTS

CRUDE OIL

Oil rose for the first time in four days as German investor confidence jumped the most on record and France pushed for faster enforcement of the European Union’s proposed ban on oil imports from Iran. the delay.”

Crude for February delivery rose $1.20, or 1.2 percent, to $99.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Floor trading was shut yesterday for the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The price ranged from $98.60 to $101.01.

Brent oil for March settlement declined 4 cents to $111.30 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Crude oil futures: NI CRMKTS

NATURAL GAS

Natural gas fell for a sixth day, reaching the lowest price in more than two years, on speculation that mild weather will result in below-normal demand for the furnace fuel through the end of the month.

Natural gas for February delivery fell 17.8 cents, or 6.7 percent, to $2.492 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange after dropping to $2.473, the lowest intraday price since Sept. 4, 2009. Gas has dropped 43 percent from a year ago as a surplus of the fuel increased.

U.K. natural gas contracts slumped as milder weather may reduce demand for heating homes and businesses amid record stockpiles of the fuel.

Gas for summer, the six months from April, slipped as much as 0.65 pence to 50.6 pence a therm, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the lowest since November 2010.

U.K. natural gas: NI NUKMKT Gas market: NI GASMARKET Americas natural gas: NI AGASMARKET European natural gas: NI EGASMARKET

OIL PRODUCTS

Gasoline rose as manufacturing in the New York region expanded in January at the fastest pace in nine months and the euro gained against the dollar.

Gasoline for February delivery rose 3.04 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $2.7646 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after touching $2.8081.

February-delivery heating oil slipped 0.02 cent to $3.027 a gallon on the exchange, after touching $3.0937.

Regular gasoline at the pump, averaged nationwide, fell 0.6 cent to $3.381 a gallon yesterday, according to AAA data.

European gasoline barge prices rose, lifting the fuel’s processing profit, or crack, to the most in more than two months. Gasoil advanced on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Petroplus Holdings AG, the Swiss refiner fighting to avoid bankruptcy, is scheduled to receive a fifth tanker at its 220,000 barrel-a-day Coryton plant in the U.K. since the end of December, ensuring production continues at the larger of its two operating plants.

Gasoline for immediate loading in Amsterdam-Rotterdam- Antwerp changed hands at $966 to $971 a metric ton, according to a survey of brokers and traders monitoring the Argus Bulletin Board. That compares with deals yesterday at $954 to $957.

Gasoil for February gained 0.9 percent, or $8.25, to $967 a ton on the ICE exchange. The March contract gained 0.9 percent to $966.25.

Oil Products Europe: NI OPEMKT

LIVESTOCK

Cattle futures extended a rally to a record on signs of shrinking supplies of the animals in the U.S., and as overseas demand for beef rose. Feeder-cattle prices climbed to an all- time high.

Cattle futures for April delivery rose 0.7 percent to $1.27325 a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price reached $1.2745, the highest for a most-active contract since the commodity began trading on the CME in 1964.

Feeder-cattle futures for March settlement gained 0.5 percent to $1.53175 a pound on the CME, after reaching a record $1.53475.

Hog futures for April settlement rose 0.4 percent to 87.4 cents a pound in Chicago. Earlier, the price reached 87.8 cents, the highest for the most-active contract since Dec. 8.

Livestock markets: NI LVMKTS

–Editors: Claudia Carpenter,

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

SOURCE: Bloomberg / Businessweek

By MATT DAY

NEW YORK—Copper futures climbed to a one-week high Tuesday after record monthly imports to top consumer China raised hopes that demand for the industrial metal would hold up despite the headwinds from Europe’s debt crisis.

China imported 508,942 metric tons of copper in December, surprising many market watchers who had expected a decline from November’s levels. The import total rose 13% on the month and was up 48% from 2010 levels, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Analysts said imports were likely buoyed by opportunistic buying after the late-summer plunge in global copper prices, but the data still boosted hopes the economic engine that drove copper prices to record highs last year would remain in gear in 2012.

Copper for January delivery rose 9.75 cents, or 2.9%, to settle at $3.510 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

“The copper-imports number was good, and seems to be improving,” said Bill O’Neill, principal with commodities firm Logic Advisors. “When you combine that with some of the comments from Alcoa about metals demand in general, I think copper benefited from that as well.”

Alcoa Inc., a leading U.S. aluminum maker, said Monday it expected Chinese demand for the lightweight metal to grow by 12% in 2012.

Worries that economic growth in China was slowing helped knock copper prices off the record highs reached early in 2011. During the year, the country’s copper imports fell 5.1%.

China accounts for about 40% of world consumption of the metal, which is used in everything from wiring and plumbing to electronics and automobiles.

Copper “demand growth remains healthy,” analysts with RBS said in a note. “Consumption in mature economies will likely slow, but most of the growth forecast for the next few years is still expected to come from China, where demand is holding up well.”

Copper futures held their early gains Tuesday through European and U.S. trading, as a reading on French industrial production came in better than expected and a Fitch Ratings representative said the country’s credit rating isn’t expected to be downgraded.

But the copper market remains vulnerable to a pullback, analysts said, as concerns linger that Europe’s financial system could be poised for further turmoil. Copper’s 23% decline in 2011 came in large part as investors bet the euro-zone debt crisis would filter through the industrial economy and curb metals demand world-wide.

“It remains to be seen whether the bounce we are currently seeing in metals will have some legs to it,” said Edward Meir, an analyst with INTL FCStone, in a note. “Euro-related bond fears are not far underneath the surface and still have the capability of snuffing out this rally.”

Write to Matt Day at matt.day@dowjones.com

SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Online