US copper futures shot up early on Thursday, boosted at first by new all-time highs in London copper, then charged to a series of contract peaks on the latest batch of strong US manufacturing and construction data as funds bought heavily, traders said.
Spot December futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange raced up 5.30 cents to a high at $2.1280 per lb, then set a new contract high at $2.1440.
Benchmark March copper gained 4.30 cents to $1.9690 a lb, and soared to a new contract top at $1.9785 a lb, well up from the low at $1.9140. COMEX estimated 10 am EST volume at 4,000 lots. Copper contracts jumped to new lifetime levels when the latest round of strong US economic figures bolstered views that demand for the industrial metal will remain healthy.