Copper gained on Thursday as markets recovered and winter storms in China disturbed production.

The main producer of copper in China, Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd, said today efficiency of mines and fabricators will diminish due to the extremely low temperatures in the country. The natural incidents have caused power shortages and blackouts. Weather has also made transportation difficult.

The Chinese company will halt some production - shutting down 300,000 metric tons of its 700,000 metric tons of smelting capacity - within two to three days, according to Reuters.

Copper for March delivery climbed 7.15 cents to $3.2980 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. Copper for delivery in three months gained $190, or 2.7 percent, to $7,350 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.

U.S. stocks rebounded after early declines caused by a jobless claims report. The Labor Department showed that during the month of December, the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits rose by 69,000 to 375,000, surpassing analysts' predictions.

The latest 0.50 percent interest rate cut made by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday prompted copper acquisition on the market. During the last nine days of the month The Fed has reduced interbank loan costs to 3 percent.

However, markets are focused on the next move that could affect copper's prices when the monthly U.S. employment report will release data of created jobs tomorrow.

China Copper