Copper was little changed and poised to rise in New York after a report showed the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. unexpectedly fell last week, boosting the outlook for metals demand. Jobless workers seeking unemployment insurance for the first time fell to 601,000 in the week ended May 2, the fewest since late January, the Labor Department said today. Analysts expected claims to rise to 635,000, the median of 36 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Before today, copper had surged 55 percent this year on speculation that consumption will rebound. “The macro picture is connected to all of the asset classes right now, and copper is part of that,” said Joel Crane, an analyst at Deutsche Bank AG in New York. “Everyone seems to be quite happy about” the jobless claims report. Copper futures for July delivery rose 0.25 cent, or 0.1 percent, to $2.1895 a pound at 9:43 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price touched $2.217, the highest since April 16. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose $30, or 0.6 percent, to $4,780 a ton ($2.17 a pound). The price reached a record $8,940 on July 2.

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