Copper at record high on China trade data Silver atop $30, its best since early January

Copper futures settled at a record high Monday as China trade data surprised the market and pushed prices higher while gold made small advances.

Gold futures settled in with modest gains, a reversal following two sessions of losses, and silver closed at a six-week high, inching closer to $31 an ounce.

Copper for March delivery /quotes/comstock/21e!f1:hg\h11 (HGH11 462.80, -0.05, -0.01%) rose 9 cents, or 2%, to settle at $4.63 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

“Chinese trade data for January showed a robust increase in copper imports which took the market by surprise,” said Gayle Berry, an analyst with Barclays Capital in London.

Traders had expected imports to fall. “China had been a drag on prices for the past 6 months or so as it destocked but this recent recovery in imports has removed some of the drag, propelling prices higher,” Berry added. (more)