Copper nears highest in a month

Copper traded near the highest level in a month after recording a third weekly advance as investors weighed whether demand in China, the largest user, can be sustained. Zinc, nickel, aluminum and lead rose.

Metal for delivery in three months climbed as much as 0.6 per cent to $7,417 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange and was at $7,390.75 at 10:16 am in Shanghai. The metal gained 5.5 per cent in the past three weeks and climbed to $7,480 on May 8, the highest level since April 12.

LME copper stockpiles fell for a second week to 604,250 tons on May 10, the lowest in almost a month, as orders to remove copper from LME warehouses jumped 35 per cent to a record 212,875 tonnes. SHFE inventories slid to a six-month low at 195,043 tonnes last week.