Market and product

Copper rose for a second day aheadof Chinese trade data that may show sustained demand from thebiggest metals user and as U.S. politician continued talks toavoid a debt default.

The contract for delivery in three months on the LondonMetal Exchange gained 0.4 percent to $7,170.25 a metric ton at10:03 a.m. in Shanghai, trimming a second weekly decline.

Imports by China probably expanded 7 percent in Septemberfrom a year earlier, according to the median of 42 estimates ina Bloomberg survey. President Barack Obama didn’t accept orreject House Republicans’ plan to increase the debt limit as thetwo sides pledged to keep talking tonight about avoiding defaultand ending the partial government shutdown.

“We may see a relatively high copper imports for Septembertomorrow as recent economic indicators show a stable Chineseeconomy,” said Yu Yi, an analyst with SDIC CGOG Futures Co. inBeijing.

Stockpiles tracked by the LME fell to 512,450 tons, thelowest since March 8, daily exchange figures showed.

Futures for delivery in December climbed 0.3 percent to$3.2585 a pound on the Comex in New York. The January contracton the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased 0.7 percent to 51,780 yuan ($8,471) a ton.

On the LME, zinc, nickel and lead also rose, while aluminumfell and tin was unchanged.