US copper futures were trading modestly higher in thin dealings early Thursday, keeping pace with a slightly firmer London market that received a boost from aluminium's spike to 10-year highs, sources said.
"There was some fund selling at the open, but trade buying on the dips brought us back up and now we're just hovering around the unchanged level. It may look like we're running out of steam up at these levels, but every time we say that we go up another couple of cents," said one dealer.
By 10:32 am EST (1532 GMT), copper for December delivery was 0.65 cent higher at $1.8370 a lb, at the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading ranged from $1.82 to a five-day high at $1.8420.
Spot November rose 0.70 cent at $1.9090 a lb, dealing from $1.9020 to a new contract high at $1.91. COMEX copper volume at 10:00 am was estimated at 7,000 lots.