Copper buoyed

Melbourne

London copper on Thursday hovered below two-year highs touched in the previous session, supported by a weaker dollar and increasingly upbeat views about China´s economic growth and metals demand.

The base metals sector has pushed higher, driven by an increasingly positive sentiment about the Chinese economy and commodity demand, ANZ said in a report.

"This has been compounded by easing fears of tighter liquidity in China," it added.

Earnings for China´s industrial firms surged 19.1 percent in June from a year earlier, accelerating from May in a sign economic momentum remains solid even as rising borrowing costs have raised concerns about pressure on margins.

"There was also much chatter about a potential ban on the imports of copper scrap into China. However the ban may not take place for another 18 months, (so) the impact on the copper units being imported into China would be minimal," ANZ said.