US copper futures extended gains early on Tuesday on the back of a weaker dollar and strong car sales data in China, but lingering demand fears in the world's top copper consumer could still drag prices down. Benchmark copper for March delivery rose 4.00 cents, or 1.37 percent, to $295.30 per lb by 10:04 am EST (15:04 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division.
Range from $296.85 to $287.65. On Monday, March copper firmed 5.55 cents, or 1.9 percent, to settle at $2.9130 per lb. COMEX estimated futures volume stood at 17,858 lots by 9 am.