By Halia Pavliva Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices rose on speculation that the U.S. government will approve a rescue plan for the country’s automakers, boosting demand for the metal. Congress will vote as early as today on a $15 billion loan fund to keep U.S. automakers afloat under a proposal that also requires them to restructure. The compromise plan to help General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC should avert a meltdown that may drag down industry suppliers. Copper is mostly used in tubes and wires, including parts for cars and trucks. “Stock futures and commodities cheered the automotive news,” Jon Nadler, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc. in Montreal, said in a report today. U.S. equity indexes climbed. Copper futures for March delivery rose 2.7 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $1.4705 a pound at 9:58 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal rose for the second time in nine sessions and was down 53 percent this year before today. Copper inventories rose 1,025 tons to 303,600 tons today, the most since February 2004. Of the increase, 88 percent was in the U.S., the second-biggest buyer of copper, exchange data show. LME-monitored inventories scheduled for withdrawal, known as canceled warrants, increased 1,150 tons to 5,175 tons, signaling supplies may be reduced. Equities gained in U.S. markets on speculation lawmakers in Washington will approve the auto-industry lending plan in the latest effort to boost the economy. Share indexes in Asia and Europe also climbed. On the LME, copper for delivery in three months rose $25, or 0.8 percent, to $3,225 a metric ton ($1.46 a pound). Before today, the price plunged 64 percent from a record $8,940 in July. To contact the reporter on this story: Halia Pavliva in New York at hpavliva@bloomberg.net.

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