Copper climbs

SHANGHAI - Copper climbed, set for a fifth monthly gain, as positive US consumer spending data and speculation about a possible shortage outweighed concerns over government tightening in China.

The metal for three-month delivery increased as much as 1.2 percent to $8,320 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, and traded at $8,253.50 at 3:42 pm in Shanghai on Tuesday.

"The theme seems to have returned to the supply shortage," Li Peiying, an analyst at Essence Futures Co, said. Copper will rise to more than $11,000 a ton by 2013 because of shortages, according to researcher GFMS Ltd. The market may move back into surplus in the first half of next year as economies slow, before returning to shortage in the following six months and thereafter, it said in a research note.