Copper futures rose in Shanghai after London prices gained as a weaker dollar boosted the appeal of alternative investments. London Metal Exchange copper jumped 3.1 percent to $4,610 a metric ton on May 22, bringing this year’s gain to 50 percent. The Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback against six major currencies, was up 0.2 percent at 80.07 at 2:48 p.m. in Shanghai, after plunging 3.7 percent last week on speculation that the U.S. government’s creditworthiness may be weakening. “The dollar is the direct influence on copper prices, so supply-and-demand prospects can hardly be the basis for trading in the short term,” Tian Gangfeng, an analyst at Haitong Futures Co., wrote in an e-mailed report today. August-delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose as much as 1.4 percent to 36,910 yuan ($5,409) a ton before closing at 36,780 yuan. LME copper advanced 3.1 percent on May 22. The London exchange is closed today for Spring Bank Holiday. “Shanghai copper, which is tracking LME higher, appears noticeably weaker by comparison,” analysts led by Tan Wentao at HNA Topwin Futures Co. wrote in an e-mailed report today. “The declines in China’s equity market are crimpling market sentiment.” China’s stocks fell for a fourth day, driving the benchmark index to its longest losing streak this year, partly on concern that this year’s rally overvalued prospects for the nation’s economic recovery. Record copper imports by China, the world’s largest consumer, cut the Shanghai premium for immediate delivery metal over futures to less than 500 yuan a ton from as high as 2,300 yuan a ton last month, said analysts including Edward Fang at China International Futures (Shanghai) Co. The world will have a surplus of 500,000 tons of copper this year amid the global recession, Macquarie Bank Ltd. said this month.

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