Copper rallied back above $9,000 a ton as investors weighed upbeat factory data from top consumer China and the potential for output cuts by the country’s leading smelters. Investors are becoming more optimistic about the world’s second-largest economy after the official manufacturing purchasing managers index in March registered the highest reading in a year, the latest green shoot alongside strong exports and rising consumer prices. A factory gauge in the US also unexpectedly halted 16 straight months of decline. “The economic data is aiding market sentiment, signaling a recovery in manufacturing industry,” ... (full story)