Copper rises on positive US data

SINGAPORE: Shanghai copper rose 2.8 percent yesterday and London metal extended gains, after the latest batch of positive US data, this time existing home sales, helped soothe jangled investor nerves.

Pending sales of previously owned US homes edged up as expected in December, a survey showed, allaying some fears of renewed weakness in the troubled sector. That came on the heels of a string of positive GDP and manufacturing numbers since Friday.

"The numbers are good, but we need a little more consistency. The pattern has been for a string of positive numbers followed by one or two poorer indicators," a dealer in Hong Kong said.