Copper prices rose for a fifth time in six sessions on speculation that government spending by China, the world's biggest metals user, is boosting demand.

China's $585-billion (U.S.) in stimulus spending has fuelled rebounds in steel and electricity output and restored investment to rates that preceded the financial crisis, the World Bank said yesterday. The bank predicted China would start to recover this year. Copper has surged 41 per cent in 2009 on speculation that the global recession has bottomed.


"People are enthusiastic about China," said Matthew Zeman, a trader at LaSalle Futures Group in Chicago. "If we continue to see signs of economic improvement, copper will keep trending higher."


Copper futures for May delivery gained 3.1 cents or 1.6 per cent to $1.99 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division.


"Once we start to see some traction in Asia, that's going to be good for copper," Michael Pento, the chief economist for Delta Global Advisors Inc. in Holmdel, N.J., said in an interview. "Physical demand is going to depend on what happens in China."


China's copper demand could gain 3.1 per cent to 7.05 million tonnes, analysts at Barclays Capital in London said yesterday in a report. Copper imports to China may jump 32 per cent in 2009 from a year ago as scrap supplies are constrained, Barclays said.


Copper jumped 20 per cent in March, the biggest monthly gain since April, 2006, on speculation that government spending plans in the U.S. and China would help revive global economic growth and boost demand for industrial metals. A manufacturing gauge in the Asian nation rose for the first time in six months in March, the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said last week.


"It's clear now that commodity prices are beginning to stabilize," Vikram Nehru, the World Bank's chief economist for East Asia, said yesterday in Tokyo. "There is some expectation that not only will they stabilize but they might begin to rise further as China starts to recover."


Still, copper prices may drop in the next few weeks after rallying "too far, too fast," Delta Global's Mr. Pento said. The most-active contract may drop to $1.75 a pound, he said.


"Copper prices have gotten ahead of where demand is," said Mr. Pento, who in January correctly predicted the metal's rally during the first quarter. "Copper is due for