Copper rose, rebounding from the lowest price in more than four years, on speculation demand for the metal will pick up in 2009 as the U.S. economy climbs out of a recession. U.S. equity-index futures traded higher today, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may pare a 2.2 percent decline this week. Copper, used in pipes and wires, has dropped 58 percent this year as the S&P plunged 41 percent amid the first U.S. recession since 2001. “Copper is a bellwether for the economy,” said Frank McGhee, head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services in Chicago. “Copper can drift higher with U.S. stocks but another wave of bad economic news can send copper to under $1 a pound.” Copper futures for March delivery rose 1 cent, or 0.8 percent, to $1.284 a pound at 9:22 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price touched $1.255, the lowest for a most-active contract since Oct. 29, 2004. Copper is still headed for its first annual decline since 2001.

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