COMEX copper futures rose on Thursday, propelled by London coppers rise on trade buying and supply-side concerns raised by labour issues in the market, dealers said.
Active September copper shot up 1.05 cents to end at $1.2875 a lb, mid-way in a range of $1.2760 to $1.2930. Spot July rose 1.15 cents to $1.2895, and the back months advanced 0.25 cent to 1.15 cents.
Prices climbed but stayed pinned below Mondays peak at $1.30 a lb, basis the September contract, though some players felt copper was poised for more gains in the short-term.
"The trend is still up and the markets building a base in here," Scott Meyers, analyst at Pioneer Futures, said. "I think were going through that $1.30 level within a week, or earlier, and Im looking for $1.35 by the end of the summer, because the demand is there and the fundamentals haven't changed."
Analysts say strong metal consumption mixed with steadily falling refined copper stocks in exchange warehouses has lent a bullish tone to the copper market.
Meyers pegs technical support down at the $1.25 a lb mark, followed by $1.22.
One COMEX floor source said much of the buying was arbitrage, based on London's rise. "Also I still think you're getting a little support from labour-issue fallout here in the market, although volume is moderate," said AG Edwards & Sons commodity commentator James Quinn.
Traders were awaiting news from locations in North America and Africa: South Africans Angloplat, where workers at Rustenburg operations are set to strike over a pay dispute, and Grupo Mexico, where its La Caridad operations are unable to make deliveries this week due to a strike there.
Concerns linger about the force majeure at La Caridad and thoughts about the strike creating labour issues at Grupo Mexico's Cananea mine, traders said. Some sources believe that Cananea workers could strike in sympathy, if the La Caridad labour dispute is not resolved quickly.
Contract talks at Grupos US unit Asarco Inc were still pending this week.
Final estimated COMEX volume touched 10,000 lots, above Wednesdays official 6,518 contracts. Open interest rose 651 to 67,391 lots.
At the LME, three-months copper settled $16 higher at $2,806 a tonne.
In inventory moves, LME copper warehouse stocks fell 425 to 95,425 tonnes, while COMEX stocks lost 456 short tonnes to stand at 87,760 short tons.
COMEX is a division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.