SINGAPORE: London copper held near a two week-high on Wednesday, supported by indications the US Federal Reserve would continue its bond-buying scheme, a key driver of investment in global commodities. Concerns that the world's No.2 copper mine in Indonesia, Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's Grasberg mine, could face a prolonged closure after one of the country's worst-ever mining disasters also supported prices. "Fundamentally, the supply side is strong enough to stabilise copper, but not strong enough to spark a turnaround. For that we need to see a resumption in demand," analyst Dominic Schnider at UBS in Singapore said. Low inflation could encourage the extension of the Fed's bond buying program, which is likely to provide near-term support for metals, he added. Two senior Fed officials on Tuesday played down the chances the US central bank would signal a readiness to reduce its bond buying at its meeting next month. More liquidity allows greater scope for investment in commodities, while a dollar weakened by debasement props up assets priced in the greenback as they become cheaper for holders of other currencies. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed by 0.91 percent to $7,442 a tonne by 0710 GMT, holding near a two-week high of $7,450 hit in the previous session. The most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up by 0.66 percent at 53,580 yuan ($8,700)a tonne. Other supply disruptions - such as a landslide at Rio Tinto's Bingham Canyon mine in Utah, the shutdown of India's two top copper smelters and some smelters in China cutting output due to a shortfall in their feedstock scrap metal - also cushioned copper prices.

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