Investing.com - Copper prices rose to a one-week high on Wednesday, after mining giant Glencore (L:GLEN) announced further supply cuts of the red metal.
Copper for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 1.6 cents, or 0.69%, to trade at $2.347 a pound during morning hours in London. It earlier rose to $2.352, the highest since October 28. A day earlier, copper prices inched up 1.1 cents, or 0.5%.
Meanwhile, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange advanced 0.38% to $5,186.00 a metric ton.
Switzerland-based Glencore said it will cut an additional 55,000 metric tons of copper output by the end of 2017, the latest in a string of supply cuts, as the commodities group races to cut debt and shore up its balance sheet.
In September, Glencore said it would cut copper production from mines in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo by 400,000 tons.
In total, more than 450,000 metric tons of annual supply will be removed from the global market.
Sentiment also received a boost from data showing that activity in China's services sector grew at its fastest pace in three months in July. The Caixin services purchasing managers' index rose to 52.0 last month from September's reading of 50.5.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
Elsewhere in metals trading, gold futures for December delivery advanced $3.70, or 0.33%, to trade at $1,117.80 a troy ounce, as investors looked ahead to key U.S. data later in the day for further indications on the strength of the economy and the likelihood of a near-term interest rate hike.
The U.S. was to release the ADP jobs report for October at 8:15AM Eastern Time Wednesday, followed by data on the trade balance at 8:30AM. At 10:00AM, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management is to report on service sector growth for October.
Market players are also focusing on Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. The consensus forecast is that the data will show jobs growth of 182,000 in October, following an increase of 142,000 in September, while the unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 5.1%.
A strong U.S. nonfarm payrolls report was likely to add to speculation over when the Federal Reserve will begin to raise interest rates, while a weak number could undermine the argument for an early rate hike.
The timing of a Fed rate hike has been a constant source of debate in the markets in recent months. The U.S. central bank has one more scheduled policy meeting before the end of the year in mid-December.
Expectations of higher borrowing rates going forward is considered bearish for gold, as the precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates are on the rise.