Copper rises

Melbourne : London copper rose as data showed China imported near record volumes of the metal last month, with prices on track for their first weekly rise in three as turmoil on Wall Street weighed on the dollar.

China´s copper imports grew in September as the world´s top buyer of the commodity brought in more ores and metal to replace scrap after it tightened waste related imports this year.

"(Strong copper import data) backs up other data which has suggested fundamentals are strong, such as falling inventories and rising premiums," ANZ said in a report.

However, potentially clouding the outlook, China also reported an unexpected acceleration in export growth in September and a record trade surplus with the United States, which could exacerbate an already-heated dispute between Beijing and Washington.

London Metal Exchange (LME) copper had climbed 0.6 percent to $6,278 a tonne by 0610 GMT, after closing flat in the previous session.