Copper rose in London, heading for a third straight weekly gain, on speculation that the pace of job cuts slowed in the U.S., adding to indications that the worst of the economic slump may be past. U.S. employers probably cut 520,000 workers from payrolls in May, the smallest drop in seven months, according to the median estimate of 75 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The report is due today at 1:30 p.m. London time. Other figures released this week showed that fewer Americans filed claims for jobless benefits and sales of previously owned homes advanced. “Investors have called for a slight improvement in the job market,” Tobias Merath, head of commodity research at Credit Suisse, said today by phone from Zurich. “The numbers we’ve seen in the past couple of weeks came out better than expected.” Copper for three-month delivery added $38, or 0.8 percent, to $5,063 a metric ton at 9:43 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. The contract has gained 4.8 percent this week. Copper for July delivery rose 0.3 percent to $2.3080 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. Stockpiles of the metal monitored by the LME dropped 3,225 tons to 299,975 tons. Inventories tracked by the Shanghai Futures Exchange have jumped 15,263 tons, or almost 51 percent, to 45,480 tons this week. Including Comex stockpiles, inventories totaled 396,999 tons, up 1 percent for the week. Demand Still Weak Copper has jumped 65 percent this year in London, helped by optimism about an economic rebound and its effect on demand for metals. Merath said he has yet to see any signs of improved demand and Western economies remain in recession. “As demand continues to be weak, metals can’t rally indefinitely,” he said. Three-month copper’s relative strength, a technical indicator used by some investors to suggest possible gains or drops, has climbed to 65.85, Bloomberg data shows. That’s close to the level of 70 that technical analysts say signals a probable decline. Commodities as measured by the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index rose 2.7 percent yesterday after the report on claims for unemployment benefits. Industrial metals and oil extended the climb today. Among other LME metals for three-month delivery, aluminum rose as high as $1,598 a ton, the highest intraday price since May 7. The contract was last up $30.50, or 2 percent, at $1,595. Inventories of the lightweight metal used in cars and beverage cans rose 2,875 tons, or less than 0.1 percent, to 4.24 million tons, according to the exchange. Nickel was unchanged at $14,700 a ton, and lead slipped 0.1 percent to $1,664 a ton. Zinc gained 0.3 percent to $1,579 a ton, and tin added 0.3 percent to $14,750 a ton.

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