China demand hopes drive copper to 2-month peak

LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters): Copper prices rose to their highest in nearly two months on Monday, buoyed by growing hopes of fresh stimulus and demand in China, a softer dollar and protests at a mine in Panama.

Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.9 per cent at $8,344 a tonne by 1100 GMT, having earlier touched $8,349 for its highest since Sept. 29.

Hopes for stronger copper consumption were raised by a pledge from China's central bank to ensure financing support for the property sector, a major consumer of industrial metals.

"There's a fair amount of stimulus in the pipeline and we are in a seasonally strong period," said Dan Smith, head of research at Amalgamated Metal Trading.

"For me, copper demand looks strong in China, primarily in the green sectors. We know utilisation rates at wire rod plants picked up into mid-November."