fundamentals

* Copper surges on first day of new quarter
* China, U.S. manufacturing data drive rally
* Copper pushing up toward top end of range
* Coming up: U.S. factory orders data on Tuesday

By Chris Kelly and Maytaal Angel
NEW YORK/LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - Copper surged on the first trading day of the new quarter Monday, posting its biggest one-day gain in 6 weeks, after upbeat manufacturing data from China and the United States calmed worries over
demand prospects for industrial metals.
Up over 2 percent, copper led all gainers within the 19-commodity Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index on Monday as investment demand improved for the red metal after surprisingly strong Chinese factory data and further growth
in U.S. manufacturing.
"It's a big shot in the arm for copper prices," said Michael Gross, futures analyst with Optionsellers.com in Tampa, Florida. "First with the Chinese data this morning and then the ISM later in the day confirming stronger demand here in the U.S."
London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month copper closed up $195 or 2.3 percent at $8,640 a tonne, its biggest daily gain since Feb. 21, when copper
rallied 2.6 percent.
In New York, the COMEX May contract shot up 9.60 cents or by 2.5
percent to settle at $3.9210 per tonne, near the upper end of its $3.8285 to
$3.9325 session range.

http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFL6E8F222R20120402