Copper at 6-mth high, boosted by China data

Shanghai copper futures rose 7 percent on Monday, touching their upside limit for a second consecutive trading session, supported by continuing declines in stocks and positive industrial output and other data from China.
Shanghai prices have surged 10 percent in the past two sessions while London was shut for the four-day Easter holiday, sending the premium for Chinese metal above 4,600 yuan ($673) a tonne accounting for China's 17 percent VAT, and likely to prompt a fresh wave of arbitrage dealing — buying in London and selling in Shanghai.
"Things appear to be coming together for copper. The data from China is coalescing into some pretty decent support for the market. Given the dependence of China on supplies from the international market, the gains in Shanghai are very likely to lift London when it re-opens," a dealer in Singapore said.
Chinese banks extended 1.89 trillion yuan in local currency loans in March, bringing the first quarter total to 4.58 trillion yuan, near Beijing's full-year target of at least 5 trillion.
China's Premier Wen Jiabao said on Saturday industrial output growth rose to 8.3 percent in March from a record low of 3.8 percent in the first two months of the year.
Also supporting sentiment, China's imports of unwrought and semi-finished copper hit a record 374,957 tonnes in March, data showed on Friday.
More bullish news emerged on Monday. China is planning a new economic stimulus package targeted at boosting consumption, the China Securities Journal reported, citing a senior official of the State Information Center.
China has already announced a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package to combat the economic crisis.