On Tuesday copper futures rose, as concerns over a disruption to supplies supported prices.
Prices of the red metal have risen almost 14% since hitting a recent low of $2.420 on January 26.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper for May delivery tacked on 2.8 cents, or 1.04%, to trade at $2.745 a pound during European morning hours.
On Monday, copper shed 1.7 cents, or 0.62%, in choppy trade to settle at $2.717. Futures were likely to find support at $2.693, the low from April 6, and resistance at $2.831, the high from April 6.
Recently, copper prices have been strengthened as a disruption to mining output in Chile, Indonesia and Australia made traders reestimate the outlook for global supply and demand.
Before the recent series of disruptions, many analysts
anticipated that copper production from mines would exceed demand in
2015 for the first time in six years. Some are predicting deficit now, though.
In other metal trading, gold futures for June delivery slumped $9.50, or 0.78%, to trade at $1,209.10 a troy ounce, while silver futures for May delivery dropped 31.2 cents, or 1.82% to trade at $16.79 an ounce.
Gold prices have risen nearly 6% since hitting a recent low of $1,140.60 on March 17, as indications that the U.S. economy weakened in the first quarter spurred speculation the Fed will hold off on hiking interest rates until late 2015.
A delay in raising interest rates would be considered as bullish for gold, as it decreases the relative cost of holding on to the metal, which doesn't offer investors any similar guaranteed payout.
