The price of copper rose to a two-week high above $3.30 a lb in New York futures trade on Tuesday after surprisingly strong December durable goods orders restored some investor confidence in the world's largest economy, dealers said.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division, copper for March delivery peaked at $3.3185 a lb, its highest level since January 15, before ending the day up 10.95 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $3.2990.
By 1 pm EST (1800 GMT), futures volumes were estimated at 19,343 lots. On Monday, volumes totalled 13,338 lots. Open interest in Comex copper futures increased by 1,809 lots to 87,644 lots open as of January 28. The metal, often seen as a gauge of underlying economic activity, shot higher on the back of the better-than-expected December durables numbers, coming within a few cents of its early-year high of $3.3785.
"I think we are slowly moving away from some of the economic fears and it is showing itself in the copper with a very impressive rally and an improving technical picture," said Sterling Smith, vice president with FuturesOne in Chicago.
New orders for long-lasting goods rose 5.2 percent during December, a Commerce Department report showed on Tuesday, well above the 1.5-percent increase forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. The surprise surge in durable goods orders cleared some of the gloom hanging over the market and readied traders for Wednesday's interest rate policy decision by the US Federal Reserve.
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