Shanghai copper futures inch up

MANILA: Shanghai copper rose to near 15-month highs yesterday and London futures hovered close to a 14-month peak hit the previous day, aided by a softer dollar and upbeat economic data.

With the international impact of Dubai's shock debt announcement last week seemingly largely contained to the emirate and a handful of large creditors, investors were free to focus on the eighth straight decline in US job losses in November, and a bullish outlook by the Federal Reserve.

"The Dubai problem was not as bad as people had expected and that's a relief for the market," said Ciaran Moore at Halifax Investments in Sydney.