Copper hits near 2-month high on China data
cuts and tax rises due to be implemented in 2013 under existing laws that could tip the world's top economy back into recession.
Prices are now up more than 6 percent for the year.
The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange rose 0.89 percent to 57,960 yuan
($9,300) a tonne.
A pick-up in China's factory output and retail sales growth
to eight-month highs suggested a revival in the world's
second-biggest economy is gaining momentum but optimism was trimmed by November exports that were well below market expectations.
Exports rose an anaemic 2.9 percent while imports were flat year-on-year.
A bright spot in the U.S. labour market came with a jobs
report on Friday that showed U.S. companies kept up their slow but steady hiring pace in November, defying predictions for Superstorm Sandy to have dealt the number a big blow.
Still, the euro had retreated from last week's one-month
peaks against the dollar after Germany's central bank forecast barely any economic growth in 2013, and flagged risks of a recession in the euro zone's biggest economy as the debt crisis hits the bloc's core.
A weaker euro makes commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
MARKETS NEWS
China's copper demand remains soft amid expectations the country will export more metal next year, after exporting a monthly average of 23,000 tonnes so far this year, Barclays Capital said.
"We believe exports will become more regular, perhaps
averaging 10,000 to 15,000 per month, with smelters having negotiated...tolling exports," it said in a note.
"While such a development
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