Copper futures in Shanghai rose, snapping a two-day decline and heading for a sixth straight weekly gain, as better-than-expected economic growth in the U.S. improved the demand outlook for the metal.

In the U.S., the world's second-largest copper user after China, gross domestic product expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate last quarter and unemployment claims fell last week by 10,000, government reports said yesterday.

``The latest news from the U.S. obviously boosted the market,'' said Cheng Xiongfei, an analyst at Minmetals Star Futures Co., today.

Copper for delivery in June on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose as much as 1,020 yuan, or 1.7 percent, to 62,830 yuan ($8,127) a metric ton today and traded at 62,800 yuan at the market's midday close. The contract fell from a three-month high in the previous two days on falling homes sales and ``uncertainties'' about the economic outlook in the U.S.

Metal for immediate delivery in Changjiang, Shanghai's biggest cash market, rose as much as 1,340 yuan, or 2.2 percent, to 61,920 yuan a ton today.

The price premium of the front-month April copper futures contract over the cash market narrowed to as low as zero. The futures price became more expensive than the market for immediate delivery earlier this month, suggesting ample near-term availability of the metal.

Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange traded 0.7 percent up at $6,805 a ton at 11:56 a.m. Shanghai time.

Global Demand

Stockpiles monitored by London, New York and Shanghai exchanges are headed for their third straight weekly drop, the longest period of declines since September.

Xstrata Plc, the world's fifth-largest mining company, said yesterday global demand for copper remains strong, counteracting a slide in U.S. purchases triggered by a housing slowdown.

China's imports of refined copper and alloys rose to 152,651 metric tons in February, the highest level since February 2004, according to Bloomberg data. The country has entered a peak demand period for copper, especially from the power and construction sectors, traders said. Construction use typically rises after winter.

Earlier this week, a U.S. government report showed new-home sales unexpectedly fell in February to the lowest level in almost seven years. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said that ``uncertainties'' about the U.S. economic outlook ``have increased somewhat in recent weeks.''

London aluminum traded unchanged at $2,780 a ton at 11:58 a.m. Shanghai time. Zinc rose 1.6 percent to $3,250 a ton.

Shanghai aluminum for June delivery added 0.1 percent to 19,350 yuan a ton at midday. Shanghai zinc for July delivery rose the first day in three, adding 0.3 percent to 29,360 yuan.

A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a fixed price for delivery by a specific date.