US copper futures hurdled back above $1.50 a lb on Tuesday as a weaker dollar and an unexpected jump in pending home sales in December drove the bullish sentiment. But rising inventory levels continued to reflect the metal's worrisome demand outlook, and were likely to keep prices locked in their short-term channel, analysts said.
Copper for March delivery jumped 9.10 cents, or 6.4 percent, to settle at $1.5220 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. Range from $1.4405 to $1.5310, the contract's highest level since January 28. COMEX estimated volume at 16,980 lots by 1 pm EST (1800 GMT). Final volume on Monday hit 11,681 lots. Open interest rose by 1,321 lots to 88,584 contracts open as of February 2.