LONDON (Reuters) - Copper climbed more than 1 percent on Thursday, headed for a third day of gains, on a weaker dollar and after stronger housing data from the United States and China bolstered sentiment about demand for industrial metals. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.2 percent to $7,730 per tonne by 0956 GMT, adding to two previous sessions of modest rises. It touched an intraday high of $7,734 a tonne, backing off from the top of the recent range of 7,738. The metal, widely used in construction and power, has gained nearly 6 percent since June 22 as hopes rose of further monetary easing by central banks and after an EU deal to boost the euro zone. Some investors may be expecting that copper fundamentals will reassert themselves following the European summer, said analyst Stephen Briggs at BNP Paribas in London. "The copper market's still basically in deficit and I think it'll be tighter in three or four months' time than it is now," said Briggs, who forecasts copper to climb to $9,000 a tonne late this year. "It's a bit early to be positioning for September onwards when demand begins to pick up, but you actually often see big moves in August in some years, so people may be positioning ahead of the positioning."

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