July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose to one-week highs in New York and London on speculation that demand will strengthen as China’s economy expands. The economy in China, the world’s biggest copper consumer, may have swelled by 7.8 percent in the second quarter, rebounding from the weakest growth in almost a decade, a survey of 20 economists by Bloomberg News shows. China will release gross domestic product figures on July 16. “The markets are quietly optimistic,” David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in London, said by phone. “China is the big daddy in the metals market.” Copper for September delivery rose 6.1 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $2.284 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division at 8:31 a.m. local time. The contract climbed as high as $2.292, the highest intraday price since July 7. Copper for three-month delivery added 2.3 percent to $5,005 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. The metal has advanced 63 percent this year in London, bolstered by demand from China, including for stockpiling. Inventories in warehouses monitored by the LME have shrunk 53 percent from their peak on Feb. 25. Prices also climbed today as the European Union’s statistics office said industrial output in the bloc rose in May for the first time in nine months. LME copper moved into so-called backwardation yesterday as the price of metal for immediate delivery rose to a premium of $3.50 a ton to the three-month contract, rather than a discount, for the first time since May 1. Record first-half copper imports into China and difficulty in getting hold of scrap metal in the Asian country have drained supplies, Leon Westgate, an analyst at Standard Bank Group Ltd. in London, said by phone. Chinese Demand “Demand in China is still fairly strong,” Westgate said. The shift to backwardation probably will deter traders from “shorting” copper, or betting on lower prices, during the traditionally slower third quarter when factories close for holidays in the Northern Hemisphere, he said, predicting that prices “should be well supported.” Inventories of copper in LME-monitored warehouses fell 325 tons to 256,900 tons today, the sixth straight decline, according to daily exchange figures. Stockpiles dropped for 40 sessions in a row before increasing on July 3 and 6. Among other LME metals for three-month delivery, tin added $651, or 5.3 percent, to $12,951 a ton. The metal has gained 7.9 percent this week after falling the most since at least 1989 last week. Indonesia, the world’s second-largest tin producer after China, shipped 50,575.2 tons in the first half, the trade ministry said today. June exports rose 59 percent from a year earlier, according to industry group ITRI. Nickel, Aluminum Nickel gained $775, or 5.3 percent, to $15,505 a ton, for a climb this week of 7 percent. The metal, used in stainless steel, has been supported after Vale SA workers in Sudbury, Ontario, voted against a proposed labor contract. Vale is the world’s second-largest nickel company and produced 85,300 tons of metal last year at Sudbury, 31 percent of its total output. The refined market for nickel globally amounted to 1.37 million tons in 2008, according to Westgate. Aluminum rose 2.4 percent to $1,598 a ton, lead advanced 2.9 percent to $1,599.50 a ton, and zinc jumped 3.8 percent to $1,494 a ton.

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