Copper Advances After China Economic Data Beats Forecasts

The gains for China’s economic growth show that the government’s stimulus efforts are starting to kick in, and industrial output and retail sales for December also were better than economists forecast. The International Monetary Fund on Monday increased its outlook for expansion in the U.S., the second-largest metal consumer. The Chinese GDP data represented “upbeat news for copper, especially if you look at the industrial production number,” Naeem Aslam, the chief market analyst at Dublinbased Avatrade Ltd., said in an e-mail. The IMF’s upgrade for the U.S. “is again good news for copper demand,” he said.