Copper futures rose to a two-week high amid investor optimism that Europe will contain its sovereign debt crisis. European and U.S. equities rose, and the euro climbed to a three-week high against the dollar and the yen before European Commission President Jose Barroso presents proposals on recapitalizing banks. Germany and France have pledged to draw up a plan by early November. “We will be moving higher over the very short term, teeing off the better tone in the equity markets and cautious optimism that some sort of comprehensive package will come out of Europe,” Edward Meir, a senior commodity analyst at MF Global Holdings Ltd. in Darien, Connecticut, said in a report. Copper futures for December delivery gained 3.6 percent to $3.4085 a pound at 10:33 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the price reached $3.4115, the highest for a most-active contract since Sept. 28. Before today, the metal climbed 9.9 percent from a 14-month low of $2.994 on Oct. 3. “There is a little bit of restocking going on” in China, the world’s largest copper consumer, Richard Wilson, an analyst at Brook Hunt, a research company, said at a press conference in London. “Relatively low” stockpiles should be “supportive” for prices, he said. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose 2.7 percent to $7,489 a metric ton ($3.40 a pound). Aluminum, zinc, lead, nickel and tin also gained in London. To contact the reporter on this story: Yi Tian in New York at ytian8@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net

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