Copper prices rose for the first time in three days after a report showed fewer Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits last week, spurring economic optimism. Initial jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 621,000 in the week ended May 30, the Labor Department said today. The number of people collecting unemployment insurance dropped for the first time in almost five months, breaking a string of 17 consecutive records. Before today, copper surged 57 percent this year on signs the worst of the global recession is over. “Today’s jobs report added a positive tone to the market,” said Michael K. Smith, the president of T&K Futures & Options in Port St. Lucie, Florida. “The markets are dying for good information, so when it comes in, it really sent copper and the other commodities much higher.” Copper futures for July delivery gained 3.5 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $2.247 a pound at 9:19 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price dropped 4.6 percent in the previous two days. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months climbed $10, or 0.2 percent, to $4,930 a metric ton ($2.24). Before the jobs report, the metal dropped as much as 1.5 percent.

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