US copper futures ended up near their session highs Tuesday, buoyed by a negative reversal in the dollar and positive economic data that reinforced optimistic views about the recovery. Copper for December delivery closed up 4.05 cents at $2.8450 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. Range from $2.7950 to $2.8560. COMEX estimated final copper volume at 18,303 lots. COMEX copper warehouse stocks fell by 132 short tons to 53,174 short tons as of Monday.
The higher forecast was in response to the aggressive Chinese buying in 2009 and the prospect of a demand recovery elsewhere in 2010. LME copper for three-months delivery closed up $70 at $6,210 a tonne.