US copper futures climbed to a fresh 20-month peak on Monday morning, as economic recovery optimism carried through from the long holiday weekend after government data on Friday showed the economy added the largest number of jobs in three years.
New York commodity markets were closed on Friday, April 2, for the Good Friday holiday.
Copper for May delivery firmed 3.15 cents to $3.6155 per lb by 10:34 am EDT (1434 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. Range from $3.5755 to $3.6265, the highest level for the second-position contract based on a continuation basis since early August 2008.
COMEX estimated copper futures volume at a thin 5,943 lots by 10 am London Metal Exchange (LME) and Shanghai Futures Exchange closed Monday for Easter holidays. Chile's Codelco, the world's top copper producer, sees 2010 output unchanged despite a massive earthquake in late February that forced it to briefly suspend operations at three mines.
LME copper warehouse stocks fell by 1,875 tonnes to 512,450 tonnes on Thursday, down more than 42,000 tonnes from 6-1/2 year highs at 555,075 in mid-February. COMEX copper stocks were unchanged at 101,103 short tons as of Thursday. LME copper closed Thursday at $7,885 per tonne.
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