Copper futures edged up in Asia on Thursday, buoyed by short-covering after active selling from hedge funds pushed the contracts down in London, while technical signals stayed strong, keeping the market on a firm footing.
Buying from Chinese players lifted the benchmark three-month London Metal Exchange copper contract above lows with plenty of bargain-hunting interest near $3,600 per tonne.
The three-month LME copper futures contract was trading at $3,650/$3,654 per tonne, up 0.55 percent from the London kerb close at $3,632 on Wednesday.
Three-month copper fell as low as $3,624.5 on fund-selling on Wednesday, but the market was reluctant to hammer it below $3,600, with its 30-day moving average of around $3,592 seen as an important technical support, traders said.
Concerns about copper supplies lingered as labour disputes continued at Group Mexico's US Asarco unit where miners have been on strike since July.
Metals-related US economic data has been thin this week, but uncertainty about the US economy remained in the aftermath of Hurricane Quatrain.
In Shanghai, the most active November copper contract rose 80 yuan a tonne from Wednesday's settlement to 34,800. LME zinc was little changed in Asia after falling in London amid receding concerns about stocks in New Orleans.
The week, zinc jumped 3 percent to an eight-year high of $1,454 after the LME suspended delivery on warranted zinc from its warehouses in New Orleans.
Three-month LME zinc was trading at $1,375/$1,380 per tonne against $1,374 in London on Wednesday. Three-month nickel futures were trading at $14,525/$14,625 per tonne, up slightly from $14,500 in London.
The most active December Shanghai aluminium contract fell 10 yuan from Wednesday's settlement to 16,600 yuan. LME tin futures were quoted at $6,950/$7,000 per tonne against $6,950 in London. Lead futures were steady at $868/$871 against $870 in London.