Market and product

Copper rose for a second day in New York before a report projected to show hiring of workers morethan doubled last month in the U.S., bolstering prospects fordemand in the second-biggest consumer of the metal.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 180,000 after a 74,000 gainin December, according to economists surveyed by Bloombergbefore today’s Labor Department data. Copper also climbed asmarkets reopened in leading consumer China after a weeklongholiday. An index of the six main metals traded on the LondonMetal Exchange had 2014’s second-biggest climb yesterday.

Prices were “extending yesterday’s gains a little after aslight improvement to global risk sentiment,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said by e-mailtoday. “Also, China is back.”

Copper for delivery in March gained 0.5 percent to $3.2465a pound by 7:48 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Prices climbed1.5 percent this week. Copper for delivery in three months rose0.3 percent to $7,152 a metric ton on the LME.

Stockpiles of the metal monitored by the LME, at a 13-monthlow, shrank for a 16th session to 308,025 tons, daily datashowed. Inventories tracked by the Shanghai Futures Exchangeexpanded for a fourth week to 149,774 tons. Orders to takecopper from LME stocks fell 0.5 percent today to 182,600 tons.

The metal for immediate delivery traded at a $50-a-tonpremium to the three-month LME contract, the widestbackwardation since Jan. 21. Higher prices for earlierdeliveries usually signal limited supplies.

Aluminum for delivery in three months rose 0.5 percent to$1,721 a ton in London. Orders to remove the lightweight metalfrom LME warehouses climbed 1.2 percent to 2.46 million tonsafter a 27,350-ton booking in Baltimore. Some European vesselscarrying aluminum are heading for the U.S. city, researcher Harbor Intelligence said in a report dated yesterday.

Zinc, lead, nickel and tin advanced on the LME.