Investing.com - Copper futures edged higher on Thursday, rebounding from the previous day’s drop, but gains were limited after data showed that manufacturing activity in China remains weak, dampening demand prospects from the world’s top copper consumer.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for May delivery traded at USD3.892 a pound during European morning trade, gaining 0.31%.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.55% to trade at a session high USD3.898 a pound. On Wednesday, prices dropped 1.3% to settle at USD3.870 a pound.
Investors digested a pair of key Chinese manufacturing surveys released earlier, one from a government-backed group and another from HSBC Holdings.
The reports painted a mixed picture of China’s manufacturing sector. The official China manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 51.0, indicating mild expansion.
But HSBC’s subsequent PMI release came in at 49.6, remaining in contraction territory for the fourth consecutive month.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year and manufacturing numbers are used as indicators for future demand growth.
Copper prices have rallied nearly 12% since the start of 2012, buoyed by hopes that Chinese demand would pick up after the Lunar New Year in late-January, but demand from the Asian country has remained slack, raising concern prices could retreat sharply.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke expressed a cautious view on the domestic recovery, while refraining from suggesting a third round of bond-buying.
In testimony before Congress on Wednesday, Fed chair Bernanke said the U.S. recovery remains uneven while oil-driven inflation risks will be temporary and global market issues continue to pose downside risks.
Bernanke acknowledged the improvement in the U.S. economy, noting "some positive developments" in the labor market. He said the drop in the jobless rate is "somewhat more rapid than expected," though he added the job market is "far from normal."
In supply news, Chilean industrial production fell 10.5% in January from December and 1.2% from a year earlier, hurt by a drop in output in the mining sector.
In Indonesia, a stoppage at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold's Grasberg mine could be resolved within days, with talks between workers and management progressing well, a union official said on Wednesday.
Grasberg is one of the world's largest copper mines. In 2010, Freeport sold 1.2 billion pounds of copper from Grasberg.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for April delivery rose 0.47% to trade at USD1,719.35 a troy ounce, while silver for May delivery jumped 0.75% to trade at USD34.90 a troy ounce.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for May delivery traded at USD3.892 a pound during European morning trade, gaining 0.31%.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.55% to trade at a session high USD3.898 a pound. On Wednesday, prices dropped 1.3% to settle at USD3.870 a pound.
Investors digested a pair of key Chinese manufacturing surveys released earlier, one from a government-backed group and another from HSBC Holdings.
The reports painted a mixed picture of China’s manufacturing sector. The official China manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 51.0, indicating mild expansion.
But HSBC’s subsequent PMI release came in at 49.6, remaining in contraction territory for the fourth consecutive month.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year and manufacturing numbers are used as indicators for future demand growth.
Copper prices have rallied nearly 12% since the start of 2012, buoyed by hopes that Chinese demand would pick up after the Lunar New Year in late-January, but demand from the Asian country has remained slack, raising concern prices could retreat sharply.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke expressed a cautious view on the domestic recovery, while refraining from suggesting a third round of bond-buying.
In testimony before Congress on Wednesday, Fed chair Bernanke said the U.S. recovery remains uneven while oil-driven inflation risks will be temporary and global market issues continue to pose downside risks.
Bernanke acknowledged the improvement in the U.S. economy, noting "some positive developments" in the labor market. He said the drop in the jobless rate is "somewhat more rapid than expected," though he added the job market is "far from normal."
In supply news, Chilean industrial production fell 10.5% in January from December and 1.2% from a year earlier, hurt by a drop in output in the mining sector.
In Indonesia, a stoppage at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold's Grasberg mine could be resolved within days, with talks between workers and management progressing well, a union official said on Wednesday.
Grasberg is one of the world's largest copper mines. In 2010, Freeport sold 1.2 billion pounds of copper from Grasberg.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for April delivery rose 0.47% to trade at USD1,719.35 a troy ounce, while silver for May delivery jumped 0.75% to trade at USD34.90 a troy ounce.