Copper advanced for a fourth day to near a four-month high after U.S. employers added more jobs than estimated, inventories shrank and the dollar weakened. Shanghai copper climbed to the highest price in more than four months.
The three-month delivery contract on the London Metal Exchange gained 0.9 percent to $7,714 a metric ton at 10:03 a.m. in Singapore, leading a gain in industrial metals. Copper climbed to $7,750 a ton on Sept. 3, the highest level since April 27, after U.S. Labor Department figures showed payrolls expanded by 67,000, more than the median forecast for an increase of 40,000.
Copper for December-delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained as much as 1.1 percent to 60,540 yuan （$8,919） a ton, the highest price since April 27, before trading at 60,460 yuan, as stockpiles tallied by the exchange dropped to a one- month low of 105,917 tons. Inventories in LME warehouses fell for the first day in three on Sept. 3 to 397,675 tons.
“Economic data, a weaker dollar and declining stockpiles are all contributing to higher metals prices,” said Shi Hai, an analyst at Shanghai Tonglian Futures Co. “The demand picture looks rosy at the moment.”
Metals also advanced as the dollar traded near a two-week low against a six-currency basket, including the euro. The U.S. currency fell to $1.902 per euro today, the weakest level since Aug. 19, before data economists forecast will show Germany’s recovery is gaining momentum.
Aluminum in London rose 0.8 percent to $2,165 a ton, zinc climbed 1.6 percent to $2,185 a ton, and lead increased 1 percent to $2,190 a ton. Nickel gained 1.9 percent to $22,000 a ton and tin advanced 0.7 percent to $21,350 a ton.