Copper Edges Higher to $3.041 Before European Industrial Output

Copper traded near the highest level in a week and nickel rose before euro-region industrial data that may show output is shrinking.

Copper was little changed after rising yesterday to the highest since Oct. 6, while nickel rose 0.3 percent. Industrial output during August in countries that share the euro fell 1.6 percent from the previous month, when it expanded by 1 percent, according to a survey of economists by Bloomberg News before the data today.

Most metals swung between gains and losses after advancing yesterday as banks including Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and Everbright Securities Co. question the accuracy of China’s trade data, speculating the better-than-expected numbers are due to over-invoicing and over-reporting. Exports by the world’s largest metals consumer increased 15.3 percent from a year earlier, the biggest rise since February 2013 and beating the 12 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

Bloomberg