Copper Futures Advance to Two-Week High

Copper rose to a two-week high as concerns eased that metal demand will dwindle amid a decline in energy costs and more signs of a U.S. economic recovery.

Related News:Commodities .Copper Futures Advance to Two-Week High as Energy, Economic Concerns Ease

By Maria Kolesnikova and Yi Tian - Mar 4, 2011 3:14 AM GMT+0800 Tweet inShare.3More

Business ExchangeBuzz up!DiggPrint Email .Copper rose to a two-week high as concerns eased that metal demand will dwindle amid a decline in energy costs and more signs of a U.S. economic recovery.

Crude-oil futures dropped as the Arab League weighed a proposal from Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez to mediate the conflict in Libya. Initial jobless claims unexpectedly declined last week to the lowest level since May 2008, indicating a strengthening labor market in the U.S., the world’s second- biggest copper consumer. The price of the metal rose to a record last month.

“The market will also be watching the Libyan situation closely with Chavez entering the fray,” said Daniel Brebner, an analyst at Deutsche Bank AG in London. “It may moderate risk perceptions” in the near term, he said.

n New York, copper futures for May delivery slid 0.8 cent, or 0.2 percent, to settle at $4.49 a pound on the Comex. Earlier, the price reached $4.5485, the highest for a most- active contract since Feb. 16. The all-time high was $4.6575 on Feb. 15.