Copper rose for a third session in New York after imports of the metal into China reached the highest level in 18 months, signaling continued demand in the world’s biggest consumer.

Shipments of unwrought copper and products climbed 18 percent to 457,850 metric tons in September, customs data showed Oct. 12. That was the highest level since March 2012. Prices also increased after copper inventories tracked by the London Metal Exchange declined for a 28th straight session.

“Imports surprised to the upside,” Ivan Szpakowski, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in Shanghai, said in a report e-mailed today.

Copper for delivery in December added 1.1 percent to $3.305 a pound by 8:35 a.m. on the Comex in New York. The metal for delivery in three months rose 0.8 percent to $7,258 a ton on the LME.

While seasonal demand is helping to drive Chinese copper imports, traders may be taking advantage of firm premiums for the metal at bonded warehouses in Shanghai, Citigroup said.

LME copper stockpiles, at the lowest level since March, declined to 508,575 tons, daily exchange data showed. Orders to remove the metal from warehouses slid 1.6 percent to 258,275 tons, the lowest since June 19.

Copper also rose as the dollar weakened for a second session against a 10-currency basket amid the U.S. government’s continuing partial shutdown. Government borrowing authority is set to lapse in three days unless politicians agree to increase the debt ceiling. A sliding greenback makes raw materials priced in the currency cheaper in terms of other monies.

“A weaker dollar has supported the base complex,” RBC Capital Markets Ltd. said in a report. “As the U.S. government’s partial shutdown enters a third week, market focus now turns to the more serious conflict over raising the nation’s borrowing limit.”

Lead, nickel and zinc rose in London. Tin and aluminum fell.

To contact the reporter on this story: Agnieszka Troszkiewicz in London at atroszkiewic@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

Copper rose for a second day in London before a report predicted to show economic growth sped up in the U.S., the world’s second-biggest consumer of the metal.

Tomorrow’s initial estimate for first-quarter gross domestic product will show annual growth of 3 percent, up from 0.4 percent in 2012’s final quarter, economists surveyed by Bloomberg News said. Copper also gained as recent declines drew buyers, according to Commerzbank AG, while Newedge Group SA said some traders bought metal to close out bets on lower prices.

“Low prices are probably luring buyers in,” Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, said by e- mail today. Traders were “waiting for GDP data,” he said.

Copper for delivery in three months added 0.3 percent to $7,051 a metric ton by 9:46 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Prices are down 6.5 percent in April, headed for the biggest drop in 11 months. Copper for delivery in July rose 1 percent to $3.1965 a pound on the Comex in New York.

Prices also increased as the euro strengthened against the dollar for a fifth session in six, according to Christin Tuxen, an analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. A weaker greenback makes commodities more appealing as an alternative investment.

Sales of new houses in the U.S. gained for a second month in three in March and a Federal Housing Finance Agency gauge of house prices climbed for a 13th month in February, figures showed this week. The Copper Development Association says construction generates about 40 percent of demand for the metal used in pipes and wiring.

Copper stockpiles tracked by the LME, up 93 percent this year, fell 0.3 percent to 618,475, daily exchange figures showed. Orders to remove the metal from warehouses climbed 0.4 percent to a record 168,200 tons.

The number of copper futures outstanding in London, or open interest, came to 483,990 contracts as of April 23, remaining at the highest since December 2011, LME figures showed today. Open interest rose 3.6 percent in a week as copper slid 5.9 percent, suggesting new short positions, or bets on lower prices.

Aluminum and lead rose in London. Nickel, tin and zinc fell.

To contact the reporter on this story: Agnieszka Troszkiewicz in London at atroszkiewic@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

Commodities fell by the most in two weeks as outrage in Cyprus rekindled concern that Europe’s debt crisis may deepen, hurting demand prospects for raw materials from oil to copper. Gold rose.

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 raw materials fell as much as 1.2 percent, the biggest drop since March 1, and was at 645.70 at 11:28 a.m. London time. Copper in London dropped by the most in five months, pacing declines in industrial metals, while crude oil in New York headed for the biggest loss since March 1.

Euro-area finance ministers reached an unprecedented agreement on March 16 forcing depositors in Cypriot banks to share in the cost of the latest bailout. The 17-nation currency fell to its lowest level this year against the dollar as investors sought haven assets.

“The Cyprus issue is the biggest driver of sharp falls in commodities across the board as that is pushing the euro lower and the dollar higher,” Lelia Kim, a trader at Seoul-based Tong Yang Securities Inc., said by phone today. “Coupled with weak data out of the U.S., which is ruining recent recovery optimism, industrial metals are being hit hardest, while gold is rising on safe haven demand.”

Copper for delivery in three months dropped as much as 2.7 percent, the biggest loss since Oct. 19, to a four-month low of $7,545.75 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. Zinc lost 1.5 percent, lead fell 1.9 percent and aluminum declined 1.1 percent.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary U.S. consumer sentiment index for March fell to 71.8, the lowest level since December 2011, from 77.6 in February. The gauge was projected to increase to 78, according to the median estimate of 67 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

‘Flight to Safety’

“It’s a classic flight to safety as a result of the sharp move higher of the dollar,” Steven Dooley, Melbourne-based head of research at brokerage Forex Capital Trading Pty Ltd., said today by phone. “Cyprus is more like an aftershock after the global financial and the European debt crises. I expect each shock like this to be less and less severe, but a lot depends on how the authorities manage it.”

Gold for immediate delivery advanced as much as 1.1 percent to $1,608.60 an ounce, the highest since Feb. 27, before trading at $1,603.09. The Dollar Index, a gauge that measures the strength of the greenback against six major rivals, jumped 0.4 percent to 82.623. The euro fell 0.9 percent to $1.2954.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades will try to persuade lawmakers in Nicosia to ratify the levy today, which would raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion). Scenes of Cypriots lining up at cash machines raised the specter of capital flight elsewhere. Cyprus accounts for less than half of a percent of the euro region’s economy.

Crude Oil

West Texas Intermediate crude fell from the highest level in three weeks as Libya shut an oil pipeline after protests. Futures for April delivery slipped 1 percent to $92.49 a barrel in New York.

“Cyprus is not a critical part of the global oil industry, it’s just another one of many crises that’s not an existential threat anymore to the Euro,” Jeremy Friesen, a commodity strategist at Societe Generale SA in Hong Kong, said by phone today. “But it does highlight problems in the euro zone with an inability to keep credit loose and prevent really slow growth. The weakness in oil prices is more driven by a stronger dollar than any indication of weaker growth globally.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Sungwoo Park in Seoul at spark47@bloomberg.net; Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in Singapore atcchanjaroen@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30@bloomberg.net