Copper futures shot higher early Wednesday, propelled by dollar weakness and reinforced by robust US housing data and a drop in inflation and unemployment readings, traders said. "Funds started buying on the weaker dollar. The euro at the time was up near the highs. Strong housing numbers also definitely helped," a trader said.
At the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark March copper rose 1.75 cents to $1.4190 a lb., after trading from $1.40 to $1.4230 per lb.
Spot January futures climbed 1.90 cents to $1.4590. The rest were up from 0.80 to 1.55 cent.
One broker said funds came in the market at the open, driven up by the dollar's retreat, then healthy US data.