Copper climbs

Manila : London copper futures rose for a second session on Thursday, spurred by a retreat in the U.S. dollar from a five-month high against a basket of major currencies.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.5 percent at $6,859 a tonne by 0404 GMT.

ANZ analysts said in a note that the copper market appeared to be tightening, with the front-end of the curve moving into backwardation, when prices for future delivery are lower than those for immediate dispatch.

The one-day spread on tomorrow´s contracts, or tom-next spread, stood at $50 per tonne.

"This appears to be creating a short squeeze, with many traders forced to buy back short positions," ANZ said.

"If you look at the longer term, there´s definitely a bull case for copper," Argonaut Securities analyst Helen Lau said, citing declining ore grades and rising cost, among other factors.