COMEX copper rose to a fresh one-month high Friday morning on the back of upbeat US retail sales, traders said. As investors turn increasingly optimistic following a pullback in oil prices and a decisive US presidential election, traders said, strength in global financial markets has created a more bullish environment for metal markets too. Copper fundamentals, like a Chilean miner's strike and inventories at low levels dating back to 1990, still favour higher prices, along with signs of US economic strength.
Benchmark December copper on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division raced up 1.45 cents to $1.3870 a lb, and reached a high dating back to October 13 at $1.3910 from a higher low at $1.37 a lb.
Spot November copper rose 1.55 cents to $1.4080.
Brokers added that thin market conditions had as much to do with the magnitude of copper's price rise as the slew of bullish fundamental factors.