US copper futures ended up more than 1 percent on Tuesday, rebounding from the previous session's 3 percent losses, as better-than-expected Chinese import statistics and tame US inflationary data were seen fuelling the upside interest, analysts said.
"It certainly stopped a declining trend, which is quite telling. I think the big catalyst was the Chinese import numbers," said Bart Melek, Global Commodity Strategist with BMO Nest Burns in Toronto.
Copper for July delivery settled up 4.05 cents, or 1.16 percent, to $3.5375 a lb. on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division, after dealing between a two-week low at $3.4565 and a session peak at $3.5535.
Spot may copper advanced 4.15 cents to $3.5335, while back-month contracts closed with gains ranging from 3.95 to 4.00 cents. Final estimated trading volumes for copper futures totalled 11,822 lots, against on Monday's official count of 12,582 lots.
On the US economic front, a reading of US consumer prices suggested inflation pressures were largely contained, backing a view that the Federal Reserve may be inclined to cut interest rates in the second half of the year.
The Labour Department reported US consumer prices advanced 0.4 percent in April on a continued rise in energy and food prices, below the 0.5 percent expected but painting a stable inflation picture.
The core rate, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, advanced 0.2 percent in April, in line with expectations. The dollar fell against the euro following the data, which in turn bolstered copper's upside, as a weaker dollar typically makes dollar-denominated assets like copper more attractive to overseas investors.
In afternoon trade in New York, the euro was trading up around 0.4 percent at $1.3595. London Metal Exchange (LME) coppers for delivery in three months settled up $100 at $7,755 a tonne from Monday's kerb close.
Overnight inventory data showed LME copper stocks fell 1,175 tonnes to 141,300 tonnes on Tuesday, while Comex stocks were unchanged at 31,529 short tons on Monday.