Copper futures settled higher on Thursday as a weaker US dollar makes copper cheaper to purchase for holders of other currencies. Copper prices rose further by improved demand hopes from the world’s top metal consumer China, even as data showed prices of Chinese new homes in first-tier cities fell 0.4% in January from a month earlier and extending a downward trend. Although, some gains were limited by persistent concerns over higher-for-longer US interest rates.
Copper futures for March delivery gained $0.0220 to settle at $3.8970 a pound on the Comex metals division of New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper on the London Metal Exchange was up by 0.5 percent at $8,584.50 a ton.