Copper Shoots Above $10,000 on US Data

Copper shot decisively through the $10,000 a tonne barrier on Friday after data from the United States showed America's jobless rate tumbled and employment in the manufacturing sector surged.

Charles Bowman | Robert Harding World Imagery | Getty Images Chiquicamata Copper Mine, Atacama Desert, Chile

The industrial metal — widely used in the power and construction sectors — hit $10,095 a tonne, a gain of more than 65 percent since June 2010 when markets feared sovereign default in the euro zone could derail global economic growth.

A monthly report showed U.S. jobs growth at a meagre 36,000 in January versus 121,000 in December, but the unemployment rate fell to 9.0 percent in January, its lowest level since April 2009, down from 9.4 percent in December. (See Comex copper futures now.)

"The unemployment rate is extremely bullish, it didn't fall because of people dropping out of the market," said Dan Brebner, analyst at Deutsche Bank.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was trading at $10,090 a tonne at 1505 GMT up from $9,930 at the close on Thursday, when it made its first foray into five figures.

The jobs report from the world's largest economy also showed healthy growth in manufacturing jobs — a jump of 49,000 in January, the largest increase since August 1998. That compared with a figure of 14,000 in December.

"The manufacturing number was a big bonus for copper, it shows the factory sector in the U.S. has really improved," a copper trader said.

The United States is the world's second largest consumer of copper, accounting for about 15 percent of global demand estimated at around 21 million tonnes this year.

China, accounting for nearly 40 percent of global demand, leads the pack.

Analysts said copper's bounce through $10,000 showed investors were still piling into the metal expecting higher prices because of supply shortages and market deficits.