US copper was up half percent to 16-month highs on Thursday as fund buying and a looming mine strike in Chile put the red metal on course for a 140 percent gain this year, its best in at least 20 years. Benchmark copper for March delivery was up 1.85 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $3.3635 per lb by 10:25 am EST (1525 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division.
Range from a session low of $3.3430 to $3.3790 per lb, a high last achieved on August 21, 2008. On a spot continuation basis for a first month contract, COMEX copper showed a gain of nearly 140 percent for 2009, the highest on Reuters charts that went as far back as 1989.