Copper prices rallied Wednesday to the highest level since early July, driven by solid first-quarter economic growth in top consumer China.

The price of the commodity -- used in plumbing, heating, electrical and telecommunications wiring -- hammered as high as $6,575 per tonne.

Copped has "responded well to news China's economy expanded by a slightly better-than-expected margin in the first quarter of this year, thanks in part to easing concerns over the nation's trade spat with the United States", noted Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 6.4 percent in January-March from a year earlier, official data showed.

That was the same as the previous quarter -- but beat analysts' forecasts of 6.3 percent according to an AFP poll.

The copper market also remains well supported by supply-side problems in key producers Chile and Peru, according to market commentators.

"Short-term macro factors will continue to have a big influence on copper prices," said analysts at ANZ bank in a note to clients.

"The copper price is often seen as a leading indicator of global economic health.

"But since 2006, copper's ability to track global economic growth has waned, as supply plays an important role in setting the price trend.

"Furthermore, China's growth has been more critical for copper demand than global growth."

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China's economic growth cools to 6.3 percent: AFP poll
Beijing (AFP) April 14, 2019
China's economy cooled further in the first quarter, according to an AFP survey of analysts, as Beijing resorted to tried-and-tested measures to combat tepid global demand and a bruising US trade war. The world's second largest economy expanded by 6.3 percent in the January to March period, the poll of 13 economists found ahead of the official release of gross domestic product figures on Wednesday. It would mark the slowest pace of quarterly growth for almost three decades. The figure remain ... read more