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Data released on Tuesday showed German manufacturing orders surged ahead of economists’ forecasts in June, and a reading on U.K. industrial production also beat estimates. The data were the latest in a set of recent data on the health of the global economy that have propped up expectations for copper demand.

The German data in particular gave copper “a decent boost,” said Michael Turek, a director of metals with brokerage Newedge.

Data out of the U.S. last week showed the pace of manufacturing-sector growth last month was the greatest since June 2011, while a similar reading on China showed the sector there returned to growth in July. The metal is used in a wide range of products, including automobiles, wiring and plumbing, making prices sensitive to shifts in economic-growth expectations.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130806-709041.html?mod=googlenews_wsj