Copper gained in Asia for a third time in four days as regional equities extended a global rally and the dollar weakened on optimism the economy is recovering. The benchmark MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1.2 percent, advancing for a third day today after Australian employers unexpectedly added workers last month and Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, reported earnings that beat analyst estimates. U.S. stocks rose for a third day yesterday. “The normalization of financial market conditions has led to an increase in trading and liquidity in the commodity markets,” Credit Suisse Group AG analysts led by Tobias Merath said in a monthly note. LME copper for delivery in three months rose as much as 1.4 percent to $6,180 a metric ton and traded at $6,164.75 a ton as of 10:03 a.m. in Singapore. December-delivery copper on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed 1 percent to $2.8070 a pound. China’s markets are closed for a holiday and will reopen tomorrow. The metal used in construction and automobiles jumped 4.8 percent this week as the Dollar Index, a weighted measure of the greenback against six major currencies including the euro and yen, slumped 1.2 percent. “As the investment climate improves and supply and demand balances start to tighten, commodity prices should resume their uptrend,” said Merath. However “in the next one to three months, commodity index consolidation may continue due to weak seasonality during the fourth quarter and as Chinese government- sponsored stockpiling comes to an end.” Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum rose 0.8 percent to $1,857 a ton, zinc gained 0.9 percent to $1,953 a ton and lead added 0.6 percent to $2,168 a ton. Nickel climbed 0.9 percent to $18,810 a ton, while tin hadn’t traded as of 10:06 a.m. in Singapore. To contact the reporter for this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at

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