Copper traders turned bullish for the first time in seven weeks on mounting confidence that global growth will strengthen, diminishing stockpiles after a year in which mine production fell by a record amount.

Thirteen of 25 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect the metal to gain next week and three were neutral. Hedge funds and other money managers are holding their biggest bet on rising prices since early August, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Inventories tracked by the London Metal Exchange are already at a two-year low after global mine output dropped by 200,000 metric tons in 2011, Barclays Capital estimates.

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities climbed 0.4 percent to 663.08 at 4:52 p.m. in London. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of 26 raw materials was up 0.4 percent at 1,592.379.

BASE METALS

Copper rose in New York, extending its best start to a year since 2003, as stronger gauges of manufacturing in China and India bolstered demand prospects.

Copper for March delivery climbed 1.3 percent to $3.839 a pound on the Comex in New York. Prices advanced 10 percent in January, the most since October. Copper for three-month delivery rose 1.5 percent to $8,446.75 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.

Nickel for three-month delivery on the LME was 0.5 percent higher at $20,955 a ton. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s fourth- largest producer, said it will reduce mining activity at its West Australian operations by 30 percent because of weak prices and gains by the Australian dollar.

Aluminum, zinc and lead rose in London. Tin fell.

Copper fell for a second day in New York as a smaller-than-expected increase in euro-zone industrial orders stoked concern the region’s debt crisis is threatening growth and demand for metals.

Orders rose 1.8 percent in October from the previous month, the European Union’s statistics office said today. Economists had predicted a gain of 2.5 percent, the median of 11 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed. The euro dropped against the dollar, making metals priced in greenbacks more expensive for users of the single European currency.

“Copper has been selling since London opened on euro-zone concerns again,” Robert Montefusco, a trader at Sucden Financial Ltd. in London, said by e-mail. The metal climbed earlier today as Chinese buyers took advantage of the gap between London Metal Exchange prices and those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, he said.

March-delivery copper futures declined 0.5 percent to $3.419 a pound by 8:53 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Copper for three-month delivery fell 0.3 percent to $7,517.25 a metric ton on the LME.

The euro fell as much as 0.9 percent to $1.2821, the lowest level since Sept. 13, 2010, after French borrowing costs rose at a bond sale today. Services and manufacturing output contracted for a fourth month in the euro area in December, Markit Economics said this week. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss European economic convergence and a new treaty when they meet in Berlin on Jan. 9.

French Debt

France sold 7.96 billion euros ($10.2 billion) of debt, with borrowing costs rising in its first bond auction of the year as credit companies threaten to cut the nation’s AAA rating. The government sold 4.02 billion euros of benchmark 10- year bonds at an average yield of 3.29 percent, from 3.18 percent on Dec. 1.

Copper stockpiles monitored by the LME fell 0.2 percent to 368,400 tons, daily exchange figures showed. Orders to draw the metal from LME warehouses, or canceled warrants, advanced 2.2 percent to 41,900 tons on increases in New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama.

Lead, zinc, aluminum and nickel also fell in London and tin climbed.

Copper rose for a second day in New York, paring the first annual decline since 2008, on speculation U.S. economic expansion will be enough to boost demand for industrial metals as growth slows in China.

U.S. gross domestic product gained 1.8 percent this year and will probably increase 2.1 percent next year, according to the median of 70 economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg. A purchasing managers’ index for China came in at 48.7 in December, HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics said today. Levels below 50 signal contraction. China and the U.S. are the top global copper users.

“There’s been a growing sense over the past month or so that things aren’t as bad, at least for the U.S.,” said Marc Ground, a commodities strategist at Standard Bank Plc in Johannesburg. “The outlook for China is still for slowing, and I don’t see much support for copper coming from there.”

Copper for March delivery climbed 1.8 percent to $3.4305 a pound by 7:33 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Prices are down 23 percent this year. Copper for delivery in three months rose 1.7 percent to $7,551 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.

The LME Index (LMEX) of the six main metals traded on the U.K. exchange has slid 23 percent in 2011 after more than doubling in the previous two years. Tin has led declines, dropping 30 percent, and aluminum is the best performer, falling 19 percent.

Inventories of copper in warehouses monitored by the LME climbed 0.1 percent to 370,900 tons. They declined 1.8 percent this year after falling 25 percent in 2010.

Tin, aluminum, lead, nickel and zinc rose in London.

Comex floor trading will be closed on Jan. 2 for New Year’s Day, and the LME also will be shut.