Copper rose 0.3 percent or $21.46 to $7,153 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday, according to Reuters. That gain was only slightly below the four-and-a-half-month high that the metal reached last week when it hit $7,190 per tonne. Supporting that rise was an overall positive economic outlook, with positive U.S. job data and higher factory numbers from China both released last week reinforcing expectations of higher demand for copper to come.

 “After a stellar rally for the metal, the profit-taking mood is very much dominant among traders and this can cause a little pullback,” Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade, told Reuters. “Having said that, the fundamentals are still strong and any pullback could only be a small correction before the big uptrend prevails.”

Copper for September delivery on the Comex in New York rose 0.67 percent or $0.02 to trade at $3.28 per pound, according to Binary Tribune.

• [Editor:Mango]