US copper futures closed with strong gains on Tuesday as investors' risk tolerance went up following a successful Greek debt auction and higher US share prices, but traders said it was probably near the top of its short-term range. Copper for May delivery rose 3.60 cents to finish at $3.6005 per lb on the NYMEX's COMEX division. Range ran from $3.5440 to $3.60.
On Monday, May copper surged to $3.68 a lb, its highest since late July 2008. COMEX estimated final copper futures volume at 56,017 lots. Pushed up in early trade by a drop in the dollar versus euro, copper later rallied as investor risk appetite increased following a solid Greek debt auction - traders.
Greece passed its first borrowing test since the euro zone agreed on a potential rescue package with a debt auction, but paid a high premium to issue the Treasury bills. Despite only modest increases for US equity markets, some investors also keyed off of the positive tone as additional reason to increase risk appetite - traders.